The Scrap Heap: Naruto Edition
by Hakuei Shirei
Summary: aka "random Naruto drabbles and one-shots that may or may not be able to fit into any actual Fanfiction"... Each Scrap will be Rated Separately with Warnings for any triggers which may occur. They are scraps, and may be incomplete. Ideas and such that I may or may not post inside as well. Each Scrap may or may not have summary/blurbs in them. S7: OC-Insert/Divergent!AU, RoF!Verse
1. The Art of Motivation (Motivation Verse)

**A/N** : Finally getting around to typing/posting some of the Naruto Scraps and ideas I have written. Been so busy lately. Anyways, as you've probably noted, most of my stories are apparently OC-centric nowadays, but I thought I'd try something else here.

So here's my Alternate edition of Naruto, one of my more recent ones while I go through some of my older ones to see if there's anything _not_ cringeworthy enough to post here. Haha. Anyways, have this (amazingly) one lined working summary of this thing.

The latest of Naruto!AU's by Hakuei Shirei: Featuring a strange child, a broody avenger, an unpredictable knucklehead, their Sensei, and the everyday crazy that is Team Seven. (Based on the Manga and whatever I remember off the Anime :D)

DISCLAIMER: My name is _not_ Kishimoto, nor do I have a twin. Therefore, I do not own and did not create Naruto. Logic.

Anyways, Happy Chinese New Year! And hopefully this will be enjoyable for you all. Just past eight full pages of typing done in a _record-breaking_ 5 hours of typing... I don't even.

The title, of course, is a work in progress. I've never been good at actually _starting_ stories to be honest. Also, new font test because the ff app is annoying with its lack of lines. Also, a note of warning, this is third person perspective with...somewhat frequent perspective changes... at least for the moment. This is the first time I've brought myself to write the _beginning_ of a story that I've...sort of planned.

I do promise, however, that my little insert won't be a mary-sue/gary-stu. Definitely strange, but not super powerful or anything like that. Which was really the basis of an idea where even a minor change in a part of the storyline would change everything. Yay, world-building! Not to mention practice writing from the perspectives of different types of characters. Heh.

 _The way I've written this story is completely on purpose, shannaro!_

But more importantly, apologies for any mistakes here. I have to beta my own things, so any misses and mistakes are entirely my own. / / cue bow.  
Also, I really haven't been able to exercise my writing skills in a while. I feel they may have, kind of...atrophied.

* * *

 **Scrap 001. The Art of Motivation** (Rated K+ for typical Naruto and paragraphs)

* * *

 **I** t was the moment of truth.

Iruka-sensei would be calling his name at any minute, and then he would know…

 _Was he going to be on the same team as Sakura-chan?!_

Naruto bounced in his seat, ignoring the brooding raven-haired, self-proclaimed avenger beside him. Neither of them wanted to think about the earlier 'incident', and though it was too late to switch seats, that didn't mean they couldn't put as much distance in between them as possible.

Still, six teams had been called and grouped, the seventh only now being revealed.

"...Team Seven: Tsukino Kohaku, Uzumaki Naruto, and Uchiha Sasuke-"

" _WHAT?!_ " the blonde cried out, half yelping and half yelling. _Sasuke?!_ He was teamed with Sasuke! And there wasn't even a girl on their team! He was stuck with the creepy kid and the bastard! (Somewhere near the back of the room, a sleepy looking noirette sniffed awkwardly, somehow managing to resist the sudden urge to sneeze.) "Iruka-sensei!" He exclaimed, eyes half pleading half indignant, "Why does an outstanding shinobi like me have to be on the same team as that bastard over there?!" he demanded, more riled up by the fact that _Sasuke_ was on his team, rather than the gloomy and sleep-deprived looking kid that always sat somewhere near the back of the classroom and always seemed to leave as soon as they were dismissed

Of course, it would've been _Awesome_ if he'd been able to have Sakura-chan on his team (actually, scratch that, Sakura was way better than that Sasuke-bastard! ...And he really -kinda, sorta...maybe... sort of…- didn't mind being on the same team as the gloomy looking kid, if only they could just get rid of that stupid bastard!

In front of the chalkboard, Iruka withheld a sigh. As much as he loved the blonde prankster like a brother would, there were just times when the kid was such a brat that he wondered. Still, he tried to be patient, Naruto could be a bit slow sometimes, after all. "Sasuke's grades were the best of all 27 graduates, Naruto. You were dead last. You do understand we have to do this to balance the teams, right?" He stated calmly, not really expecting much of a response from the blonde.

"Hn, just don't get in my way… _Dobe_."

Sasuke nearly sneered, instead just telling the hyperactive knucklehead one thing. There was no way he'd ever let _anyone_ get in his way. He'd get his revenge one day, and if the other dragged him down? Well… He was an avenger for a reason, and he'd stop at nothing to get the bastard that'd had the gall to _massacre his entire family_ and think he could get away with it.

Naruto bristled, turning to glare at the noirette. " _What did you call me?!_ " He demanded, slamming both hands on the desk. Between the two, similarly to Yamanaka Ino, Haruno Sakura was mourning the fact that she'd lost her chance at getting closer to Sasuke, turning to glare at the blonde with annoyance as her aggravation hit a new high.

"Shut up, Naruto!" The pink haired genin yelled, far too upset with the fact that she hadn't gotten to be on Sasuke's team...though at least Ino-pig or some other girl hadn't ended up being on the noirette's team either. That was the pinkette's only consolation as she fought tears of disappointment, refusing to sulk as she took her misplaced anger out on the blonde knucklehead. Even as Naruto tried to defend against the pinkette that he had a crush on without hurting her.

Iruka sighed. Hopefully everything would work out -even with Naruto. Taking another breath to fortify the remaining patience he had left, he spoke up again, completing the list of Genin Teams before setting the class free for lunch. "We'll be introducing your Jounin Sensei after break, so don't be late!" The Chuunin Sensei warned, shooting a disapproving look at the squabbling though luckily no longer fighting duo in front of him.

Trying not to sigh as most of the group scattered, he shook his head and left. He hadn't been able to pack a lunch today due to all the events that had occurred in the past few days. He'd been planning to restock his fridge the day after Mizuki's midnight betrayal, after all. But with his own injury impeding him, and the Hokage calling him in along with the desk-work he did after and between class days, the Chuunin had unfortunately been far too busy to remember until he'd found his fridge all but empty that morning. Hopefully there wouldn't be too long a line at the restaurant not too far from the Academy and he could get a bento to go in case any of the students had any questions.

Letting one of his fellow teachers know that he was heading out (and thus ending up with quite a few orders from some of the others that either hadn't bothered, were too lazy, or had 'forgotten' to bring their lunches once again), the brunette made his way to the closest restaurant that sold the most decent to-go Bento's.

* * *

 **I** n the meantime, as the newly minted Genin separated (or grouped up, as the case may be), Naruto made his way to the roof to devour the packaged bread that was his lunch for the day, trying to decide what to do as he polished off his meal. Having escaped the classroom that had begun to fill with the chatter of new teammates (just as Sasuke had -if only to escaped his kami damned fangirls), unaware of the figure that had slowly stood from their seat, taking their time to stretch before bothering to look around with dull, slit-pupiled caramel eyes that along with their owner seemed perpetually tired or apathetic.

"..." Not finding the two that were the lethargic looking genin's new teammates, said genin resisted the urge to sigh and sat back down in their seat. Mentally shrugging, the dark-haired brunette took their time to unwrap the home-made bento that had been brought, deciding not to waste the time it would take to find the two far more well-known students who had clearly not understood that the lunch was meant for the newly minted Genin Teams to get to know their new partners.

The preteen, wearing charcoal black pants over their navy blue shinobi sandals with a long-sleeved black ninja shirt with wire under-armor netting which revealed a skinny midriff and shoulders, didn't even bother to look at the three other bento that sat beside said genin on the seat that more often than not remained empty.

There would be a chance to pass them on later if either of the other orphans were interested along with the Jounin Sensei that would be taking said genin under their wing. The brunette had only made the extra's out of politeness, after all, and if none of them wanted one, that would just mean less cooking for the brunette to do -at least for the next few meals. It wasn't like their guardian would be back in the next few days unless they finished a mission early, after all.

Outside, on Academy Grounds, Naruto (masquerading as Sasuke) interacted with the pinkette that he would soon be seeing far less of for the foreseeable future. Unfortunately for him, he would learn of not only the fact that Sakura seemed to truly despise him, but also the reason that he'd believe he liked her. Too bad for the blonde that diarrhea caused by the expired milk he'd drunk would send him to the nearest toilet even as Sasuke appeared before the pinkette, dismissing said pinkette until she said something unforgivable to the noirette.

Even as said events went on, however, the Hokage was showing Team 7's soon-to-be Jounin Sensei around the jinchuuriki's home.

* * *

 **N** aruto peeked out into the hallway once again, impatient to meet the Jounin Sensei who appeared to be running far too late for the blonde's liking. He, Sasuke, and Kohaku were the last three genin to remain, even Iruka-sensei had already left (having waited until the last minute until he'd had to hurry out in order to remain on time for the desk-job he worked at the Hokage Tower. As it was, the Chuunin would be cutting it very close as he barely made it in time to not be marked late).

"Ughhh, why is Team 7's Jounin Sensei so damn late?!" The blonde exclaimed at last, all but tearing his hair out in impatience. "All the other teams have gone with their sensei's, and even Iruka-sensei's gone!" He sulked, not seeming to be aware that his outburst had drawn the attention of the two darker haired genin.

"..." Unfortunately for the blonde, both genin seemed to be quite happy to remain quiet and boring, though their reactions and actions towards the blonde seemed to differ. Sasuke being his usual asshole self, while Kohaku…

Well, the toffee-eyed genin seemed to be mute or something since the other hadn't said a single word as far as the blonde could remember, only nodding in acknowledgement when they'd all converged back in the classroom to meet up with their teams. Naruto really wasn't quite sure if the other really was just mute or simply stuck up (though thankfully not as bad as Sasuke if he was). Still, something about the other genin gave him the heebie-jeebies. Maybe it was the feeling that the other genin was like some kind of cat or other predator to the blonde's senses. The brunette always seemed so detached and uninterested in everything that went on and didn't seem to have a single friend as far as the blonde could tell. Not like that bastard Sasuke who seemed to have fans following him around even with his puffed up ego and chicken-butt hair.

In fact, the detached yet somehow curious slit-pupiled eyes (even his eyes were like a cat's! the blonde thought -not quite hysterically, but close enough to a feeling of panic that he had to quash the urge to get as far away from the creeper as he could. Not even Shino and his weird bug-hive body was so creepy! Those freaking eyes!) on his back made the genin want to shiver. Still, he repressed it, deciding to go through with his prank even as he ignored the itch he felt.

He was sure that Sasuke was watching too, though the noirette was probably doing so with condescending black eyes as the blonde wedged the chalkiest eraser he could find and stuck it between the sliding classroom door. Thinking about his prank, he snickered, feeling much better now that he wasn't thinking about annoying or creepy things.

"Heeheehee~ That's what you get for being late!" He grinned, jumping off the table that sat next to the doorway and made his way back towards his seat with a feeling of pride.

"Che, like a Jounin would fall for such a stupid trap," the buzzjoy Uchiha muttered, just loud enough to ensure that the words would travel, as Naruto scowled. Kohaku, now wearing a grey-ish, off-white jacket (somewhat reminiscent to the apparently classic Aburame coat) that seemed a size or two too big, seemed to lose interest as the blonde puffed up to respond to the bastard's stupid logic.

Before anyone could say anything, however, a pale hand slid the door open, the eraser covering spiky silver hair in white chalk dust before bouncing off as the masked Jounin blinked.

Naruto burst into laughter, pointing at the now _white_ haired Jounin. "You fell for it! You fell for it!" The blonde chanted, too busy laughing to really think about the potential consequences of his actions.

Sasuke frowned, sweating a little as he wondered at the Jounin's reliability, while Kohaku's face remained blank per usual, apparently neither amused nor questioning as dark eyes stared.

The Jounin hummed, ignoring Naruto for the moment as he seemingly studied his new students, offering an insincere smile behind the mask he always wore that caused his single visible eye to curve into a crescent.

"How can I say this…?" He spoke at last, "My first impression is… _I don't like you guys~_ " He announced, two out of three members of the new Genin Team sweating, even as the last apparently reserved judgement. Ignoring the reactions to his seemingly careless remark, the man led the children (and they were still children, no matter that the law stated they were now legal adults with the hitaeate that adorned their bodies) to the roof.

* * *

 **K** akashi waited for all three genin to take a seat, having long since begun evaluating the trio and noting that they all seemed to be just as reported -with the exception of Tsukino Kohaku who was, for whatever reason, carrying a somewhat bulky bundle. The Hatake's sharp nose couldn't seem to give him much information on the containers that were stacked inside said bundle. Three if he was correct. He didn't ask, however, even if he was a little curious about the anomaly.

Naruto's brash curiosity had already revealed that the other wouldn't be answering any questions. Even if there was a higher chance that the Jounin Sensei would be answered, unlike the loud blonde that had practically run circles around the Mikazuki heir. Oh, sure, she'd taken her mother's maiden name, but that didn't mean it wasn't still on her file. That wasn't even considering the distinctive markings of the Mikazuki Clan, dark markings under the eyes that could be mistaken for bags if not for the fact that said bags didn't actually exist. Not to mention the slit-pupiled eyes and distinctive scent that he recognized from his interactions with others of the clan that had existed until the night of the Kyuubi's attack.

Kakashi refused to think about that night however, the pain, though no longer fresh, was still a wound that the Emotionally Stunted Genius hadn't been able to get rid of. Just looking at the son of his previous teacher made his heart twinge, but the Infamous Copy Ninja pushed it aside, even as he specifically avoided looking straight at the bright ball of sunshine that reminded him so much of those he'd lost.

Shaking the feeling off, he brightened the crescent-eyed smile that he'd been giving the trio for the past few minutes, even Sasuke unable to help but to shift a bit at the supposed awkwardness. The only one that didn't show any sign of discomfort was Kohaku, but if what he suspected of the apathetic seeming preteen was true, the stillness the girl showed only meant that she was taking things seriously.

Honestly, if Kakashi were any other person, he might have been weirded out by the the child. As it was, the silver-haired Jounin was only slightly discomforted. After all, knowing was one thing, being right there to observe it himself…

Well, Kakashi might have admitted that even he felt a little uncomfortable by the gaze concentrated on his person, if only to himself. All the observations he'd had of the trio that he'd made during the several hours he'd made the trio wait (all the while reading his precious Icha Icha, of course) had coincided with the files he'd been given on the three.

The Uchiha worried him, of course, especially with the preteen's mentality (something that was apparently up to the equally emotionally stunted Jounin to handle, no matter that it was just a terrible idea all around). The self-sufficient little brunette that looked more like she might have been just another shinobi rather than a kunoichi like she actually was (something that anyone with a discerning or sharp eye could -and should- have noticed), on the other hand, seemed to not care that her teammates had apparently decided she was male not at all bothered by the apparently lack of femininity that graced the child.

Then again, the girl, at least, seemed to be far more logical as well as being much calmer than the two boys on the team if the fact that she'd kept herself further back yet still somewhat in the middle of the last Uchiha and the rambunctious blonde. She hadn't said a single word so far, but Kakashi was sure that she wasn't mute… Well, almost completely sure, anyways.

Clapping his hands together to ensure the trio's attention was on him (which it of course already had been even as he'd been drawing the awkward silence out during his musings), Kakashi beamed once more. "Well then! Why don't start with introductions from you kids, hmm~?"

Dark eyes watched the Jounin with wary, narrow eyes. "...What do you want to know…?" He asked, still suspicious of the Jounin they'd gotten assigned as their team leader.

"How about your likes, dislikes, dreams for the future and things like that~?" He hummed, purposely acting the way he was to further mislead the trio that just might possibly become his new Genin Team. (As much as it hurt to be so close to the blonde, it wasn't like he'd accept letting another teacher teach the Yondaime's legacy, after all.)

Even as he spoke, the blonde squinted at him, as if staring hard enough would give him all the answers. Crossing his legs, and supporting himself with his arms he leaned in to speak. "Hey-hey! Why don't you introduce yourself to us first?!" He all but demanded, the noirette beside him approving of the dobe's tactics for once.

Nodding Sasuke continued to watch the Jounin suspiciously, sitting on the other side of the strange brunette that he'd all but dismissed already. At the very least the other wouldn't be as bad, considering that they at least wouldn't be dragging him down like the blonde would.

"Oh, me~?" The silver haired Jounin mused, "Well, my name is Hatake Kakashi," he began. "I have no desire to tell you my likes and dislikes," he continued, seeming to think for a moment before continuing on, purposely leaving information out. If the trio had really done their homework, they would have known who he was already. But from what he could see, the only one that might have any knowledge about him or any of the other more well known Konoha Ninja… was Tsukino Kohaku. Especially considering who the child's guardian was. But he was getting off track, continuing on, he continued to give the trio blank answers that would also inform them of just what he wanted them to list when it came their turn. "Dreams for the future…" He hummed noncommittally before finishing up with a just as anticlimactic: "I have a lot of hobbies."

Seated in a loose but uneven ring, the trio shared a glance. Two dubious and unimpressed, and one just as equally unimpressed if the blank look on their face was any indication.

"In the end, he didn't really tell us anything but his name, did he…?" Naruto muttered, even Sasuke nodding in agreement and disgruntlement as toffee-colored eyes flicked from their fellow genin to the Jounin.

"Saa, now for you. Why don't we start from the right~?" the masked Shinobi suggested. The two boys shared a glance, the last member of the three-member team more focused on their new Sensei, even if they still paid attention to the blonde that shifted his hitaeate in what appeared to be preparation for his introduction.

"Yosh! My name's Uzumaki Naruto! I like Cup Ramen," he started, grinning at man. "What I like even more than that, though, is when Iruka-sensei pays for my Ramen! I don't like waiting the three minutes for Ramen to cook, and my dream…" He took a deep breath, confidence clear as he firmly announced his dream. "I'm going to surpass the Hokage, and then have the people of this Village acknowledge my existence!" He all but shouted, a look of determination on his face that, coupled with the straightening of his back and the confidence he showed, could almost make the man believe that the blonde would someday have what it took to follow in his father's footsteps.

Even surprised as he was, Kakashi couldn't help the fondness that crept into his expression, as he covered the moment with a blink. For a moment, the silverette had thought that all the blonde thought about was Ramen, but this clearly proved him wrong, the slate-eyed Jounin thought, chagrined.

"Uhm, Hobbies…" The blonde continued, ending the moment of inspiration as he slumped a bit, crossing his arms. "Pranks? I guess…"

Kakashi sighed, rubbing his head and sending some of the chalk that didn't seem to want to leave completely everywhere. Well, he probably should have expected it, to be honest, but then, it had been such a juvenile tactic and he'd already known about it, but it did explain quite a bit about the abundance of pranks that seemed to have occurred even more in the recent years.

"Well then, how about we have the moody one go next?" He smiled, sitting back against the railing.

Dark eyes met his, and the man almost frowned.

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke," the noirette began, eyes hard and part of his face hidden by the hands clasped before him, elbows resting just above his knees. "There are a lot of things I dislike, and I don't particularly like anything. I wouldn't call it a dream, but I do have an ambition. And that is… the resurrection of my clan, and to kill a certain person." The last Uchiha spoke shortly, tone clipped and a heavy aura about him the other three stared, even Kohaku's caramel eyes boring into the self-proclaimed avenger.

Though it wasn't clear what the Mikazuki heir was thinking, Kakashi looked as if that had been pretty much what he'd expected to hear. Naruto's reactions being a bit more obvious in the way he shuddered and inched just a little bit further from noirette.

Sasuke didn't seem to notice, too lost in thought as the frown he wore turned darker with his emotions. His introspection only broken when the only Jounin and actual Adult of the group spoke up once more.

"Alright… And how about we have the last member of our little team speak up now," He continued calmly, not quite asking as much as stating.

"..." For a moment, the silver-haired Jounin thought she wouldn't answer, but much to his -and the other two's- surprise, the brunette that had been silent up until now, finally spoke. "I am Tsukino Kohaku," the soft voice that sounded too close to belonging to either gender sounded just loudly enough for the other three to hear. "I like taking naps," she continued quietly, voice smooth if clearly disused for the most part. "I dislike talking, being woken, or bothered," the brunette told them, keeping her words as short as she could while still being polite. She hadn't shared much that couldn't be figured out just by watching her or which could be used against her, really. Something that was more habit than anything. The less people knew about her, the less they would try to bother her. But with this being her team for the foreseeable future, then she at least owed them some information, little as it might be.

"Dreams…" She paused, a single hand moving from its place in her lap to touch the Hitaeate she'd hung around her neck. Deciding not to answer it since even she wasn't quite sure what it would be herself (to protect her precious people? To be left alone?), the short-haired brunette moved on, giving a slight shrug, chin-length hair bobbing just slightly from the slight head tilt that had occurred just prior to the shrug. "I like reading and cooking," she said at last, seeming to remember the package that had been the source of quite a bit of curiosity, even if it'd been forgotten in favor of the Jounin Sensei's introductions.

Untying the somewhat thick cloth she'd tied around the trio of bento's, she held the square containers out to her new team. "This…" She started, holding it out towards the trio of males that she would have to acquaint herself with, an unsure look on her face, words awkward and almost stilted as slit-pupiled toffee eyes stared at the stack of bento's. "For you all," she murmured, letting her words die, silence encompassing the roof-top as a breeze blew past, brushing against all of their hair.

A slightly surprised look adorned all three of the male members. Blue eyes staring widely at the offering, while black remained unreadable, and slate only looked mildly surprised.

So that's what had been inside the bundle, Kakashi mused, even as Naruto gave a shout of excitement and asked if he could really take one, and if the brunette was 'really, really sure' he could. The only answer to the excited question being a nod as toffee eyes refused to look at rest of their team.

"Well this is a pleasant surprise," Kakashi mused, experience telling him that the brunette was embarrassed if the slight pink tinge against her cheeks was anything to go by. Walking towards the trio as the other two genin accepted their bento (one excitedly, and one almost reluctantly though he did at least thank the girl), Kakashi accepted the last and ruffled the only girl's hair. As much as the girl seemed like she might be agender or even gender neutral, it was possible that it was something the child might grow out of later. The Jounin had known a few people that didn't seem to care much about their gender, few as they were. One being a Jounin that was quite open to crossdressing for missions, and didn't seem to care much about being male or female, the other being completely agender. It was rare, but it did happen, of course.

"Wow this looks good!" Naruto exclaimed, bringing the others' attention to him, caramel eyes finally looking up, slightly surprised by the hair ruffle as well as the exclamation. "Did you make this, Kohaku!?" Bright blue eyes sparkled, staring at the brunette that he'd seen a new facet of, looking even more awed when the brunette nodded slowly.

Seeming to hesitate, the other genin spoke up at last, even Sasuke cracking his own open out of curiosity. "I...was going to share them during break," the brunette told them awkwardly, spots of red appearing high on the girl's cheeks even as she looked away.

Kakashi had to resist the urge to crack his own open, though he could smell the other two's clearly enough, and could see with his own eyes just what was inside the bento. From the smell (likely the containers sealed scent in, which he probably should have expected considering what family the girl came from now that he thought about it), he could tell that both of the other containers contained the same things, so there was no need for him to open his own. And looking at Naruto's (Sasuke had only taken a peek and shut his own), he could see that there was plenty of rice, what looked (and smelled) like chicken and other vegetables (a stir-fry?). From what he could tell, the bento looked quite balanced, something that actually surprised him. It was almost impressive, he thought, partially at the thought the girl had put into making the food….as well as the speed and gusto that Naruto was eating his own.

"Ish'ush 'er- _ish_ -ush!" The blonde shouted between gobbling the food, unfortunately also proving that he'd never been raised to understand that you weren't supposed to be talking while eating at the same time. A matter proven when the blue-eyed genin choked for a moment, hitting his chest a few times to dislodge the food stuck in his throat before polishing off the rest of his food. "Ah~ That was great!" The Uzumaki grinned, sitting back supported by his arms as the emptied bento box sat in the orange-wearing genin's lap.

On the other side of the brunette, Sasuke gave the blonde a disgusted look. "That was disgusting, dobe. Don't you know anything about manners?" He sneered, resisting the urge to inch further away from the blonde, though he did seem to holding his own lunch somewhat protectively.

There had been _tomatos_ in the scrambled eggs, and smaller half-cut grape tomatoes in the vegetable stir-fry. The karaage looked good too, actually, but the noirette wasn't about to say anything since it didn't look like anything was poisoned (though he doubted Tsukino would want to kill him off, anyways. There was really not reason and motive for it).

"What'd you say, Bastard?!" The blonde exclaimed, straightening to glare at the noirette before appearing to think there was something more important to take care of. "Hey, hey, Kohaku! Can you make more of those bento?! That was really good!" He exclaimed, eyes sparkling and wide as he leaned towards the brunette...who leaned a little further back, looking somewhat alarmed by the close proximity.

"Maa, I'm sure Kohaku here'll do it _if_ *she feels like it," the Jounin spoke, clasping a hand on the sparkling blonde's shoulder and edging him a bit further away from the relieved brunette. "However, there's still something important that needs to be discussed before we can do anything else," he hummed, still standing as he smiled that one eyed smile at the trio.

"Huh?" Naruto blinked, "Hey, where'd your bento go?" The blonde asked, somehow managing to notice that the silverette's had disappeared.

Kakashi hummed, "I'm sure I'll have time to enjoy my bento later. For now, however…" He trailed of warningly, the trio straightening at the serious tone, though the Jounin relaxed his aura a bit, as he stuffed his hands in his pockets. He'd already sealed his bento away while the trio had been distracted, and watching as Sasuke and Naruto put their bento's aside (one of course, still practically untouched aside from the shifted lid whilst the other was practically empty) to pay attention.

"Now, we'll be starting out duties as Shinobi, as of tomorrow," the Jounin told them, having somehow managed to make his way back to the railing to sit down before any of the Genin really could have noticed.

Bright blue eyes and a wide grin met the slate-eyed ninja's proclomation. "Aw yeah! What kind of duties?!" exclaimed Naruto excitedly.

"Maa, first we're going to be doing something with just the four of us," he told them a Naruto settled, still fidgeting as he stared with bright eyes.

"What is it? What is it?!" He asked, clearly excited.

Kakashi allowed a moment of pause to give his next two words a sense of seriousness.

" _Survival Training_." The man announced dramatically.

"Sur...vival...training…?" Naruto questioned, a clearly confused look on his face, even as neither of his other teammates said anything, both of the darker haired members of the team more focused on their Sensei.

"This isn't normal training, of course~ This time, I'll be your opponent," The silverette smiled.

"Then…! Then what is it?" Naruto asked, seemingly causing the Jounin to chuckle in response.

Dark eyes narrowed even as caramel sharpened, zeroing in on their Sensei's shaking shoulders.

"Wh- What's so funny!" Naruto demanded after a moment when it became clear that no one else would say anything.

"Ah, well… It's just that, when I tell you this you guys will totally freak~" The man smiled, eye once again shaped into a crescent made of short, silver lashes.

"F...freak…?" Naruto asked uneasily, fidgeting in his seat, eyes wide.

"You see...of the 27 graduated, only 9 are to be chosen to become Genin," he told them, creating the illusion that he was looming towards them. "The rest? Well, they'll be sent straight back to the Academy~ This training is a very difficult exam with a failure rate of over 66% after all~"

A look of shock crossed the blue eyed blonde's face. Sasuke's own expression wasn't quite as shocked so much as surprised and somewhat grim, with Kohaku's being even less obvious. Whether it was a shock to her or not, or simply a mild surprise was difficult to tell, but having watched the trio for a while, Kakashi was at least somewhat confident that the child was at least surprised. It had been kept out of most of the books, after all. Of course, if she was as studious as he believed her to be, then she would probably at least have some vague idea of said information.

Kakashi laughed, "I told you, you'd freak out~" He smiled, even as the obviously building outburst escaped the blonde as he changed into a crouching position to yell.

"What?! No way!" He exclaimed, clearly shocked by this news, "But we worked so hard!" He yelled, as if it would change anything. "Then what was the point of graduation?!" He all but demanded.

Kakashi hummed. "Ah, that~?" He mused, "That was simply to select who'd have the chance to become Genin," he smiled, enjoying his trolling of the genin perhaps just a tad too much.

"Ughh, What?!" The blonde exclaimed, clearly still somewhat disbelieving of the situation.

Unsurprisingly, however, the only one that didn't seem to show any anxiety was Tsukino Kohaku. Or perhaps she was anxious and he just wasn't used to reading her expressions (or lack thereof) enough to be able to tell just yet. The only thing he could see on the girl's face was a look of deep thought that didn't really tell him anything.

"In any case, you'll have to show your real skills on the training ground, tomorrow. Bring all the Shinobi tools you have," he announced, smoothly running through the rest of the explanation he'd given to every other genin team that had been handed to him prior. Of course, all of them had failed, but then, Kakashi had -slightly- higher hopes for this group. "Ah," he added, as if just remembering something important. "Skip breakfast, you might just end up throwing up otherwise~" He smiled. Pulling out a few sheets of paper, he passed them out to the shaking Uzumaki, the somewhat anxious looking Uchiha, and the stone-faced child of the Mikazuki clan -a clan that would be all but extinct if its' only other member ended up dying before he could sire an heir, anyway.

"The details are on these papers, and don't be late tomorrow~" He practically sang, disappearing almost as soon as the last sheet had left his fingers, leaving only a trio of genin staring at their own individual sheets of paper with a time and place noted. He'd even been kind enough to give directions!

Really, Kakashi was just such a kind person…

More importantly, however, he kind of wanted to try that bento. Not until the kids had all separated and gone home, however, the silverette mused, scent and presence pulled in tightly enough that not even an Inuzuka would be able to figure out he was there.

Watching as Naruto and Sasuke squabble over the bento that Sasuke had yet to touch aside from finding out what had been in his own, with Kohaku doing her best to separate the duo despite her blank face and reluctance to speak, Kakashi almost chuckled.

At least it looked like this year's set would be far more interesting than the last~

Maybe they'd have an easier time of passing the test if things went well. But considering the fact that two of the members clashed quite often, and the last preferred to stay out of the way along with being far more reluctant to speak than the silverette expected, the upcoming team looked to be one that would be quite amusing, to say the least.


	2. Not in Kansas Anymore (AkaInsert Verse)

**A/N::** Wasn't expecting to post again today, but I've got two hours til midnight and Chinese New Years, so why the hell not?

In any case, this time we have quite an old story idea that I've polished and dusted off. There's another completed chapter but the third was scrapped, so expect two updates for this one. If I ever decide to rewrite or polish off that third then I guess we'll see about posting it as a story…

Another OC/SI-Insert, though of a bit of a different sort, with a plot that can be explained if anyone's curious. Another child who's not a mary-sue, though this one would need more explanation and backstory to prove it, I guess. So far, though, I don't think she is. At least, not right now, anyway. And I'm not planning to make her one either on the chance that I continue this.

DISCLAIMER: I don't the Akatsuki or Naruto. I can, however, claim partial ownership of the few paraphernalia and such that I do own.

Also, as mentioned in previous posts, everything is self-beta'd, so mentions of any possible mistakes would be very much appreciated.

* * *

 **Scrap 002. Not in Kansas Anymore** (Rated T+ for frequent cursing, Chapter 1 of 2 current updates for the Akatsuki-Insert!Verse)

* * *

" **...** " The first thing she noticed, upon waking up, was that her roof was unnaturally green, and that she was sprawled on her back, and laying on something that was rather uncomfortably digging into it. The second thing she noticed was a weight on her stomach and something else digging into her shoulder. The third, was that she was not, in fact, indoors as she had first thought, but outside, and that her glasses were sorta hanging off her face, making her vision awkward, half blurry half clear.

"Ohhh… _Crap._ I don't think we're in Kansas anymore," she blinked, ignoring the fact that not only was she not from Kansas to begin with, but that she had never even been there in her life...well, as far as she knew, anyways... As well as the fact there was no one around, either.

Surprisingly, though, she didn't seem to be as alone as she'd thought as a rather familiar, yet unexpected voice resounded.

'Of-fucking-course not, dipshit!' The voice stated sarcastically, 'we were never there to begin with, fuckass!'

"..." Her only response was to blink owlishly, before reaching a hand up to fix the positioning of her glasses. "...I thought you weren't real," was the first thing she said as she started to sit up, rubbing the knot in her back from laying on the gnarly roots of a large tree, wincing slightly as she did so.

The voice snarled, 'Of course I'm fuckin' real, asshat! What, just cuz I reside in your mind right now you think I don't fucking exist? Newsflash, you _psycho_ , I'm real!' The voice was clearly annoyed, as it was seemingly ignored so that the onyx-haired girl could shake the dirt -and whatever else was there- off her clothes, before she started patting herself, and her surprisingly intact messenger bag, clean.

"Oh," was all she said, then, " 'right now'...?" She asked quizzically, looking around to see if any of her other things were present -yup, there's her laptop. She spotted the slim model a foot or two away from where she'd been laying, dimly reflecting what little light was allowed through the canopy of the unfamiliar forest, taking the step or two to reach it, she leaned down to pick it up and dust it off, before rolling the power cord up and opening her bag to see if there was enough space.

She knew she had her phone and keys as well, though it was a question of how her keys would be useful and whether there was a signal in this dense forest, if at all. But that could wait until the 'voice in her head' stopped ranting and cussing her out as she semi-payed attention, looking around to see if any of her other things were present.

Never once did she wonder how she'd ended up in the woods, or why she was there to begin with, a bit too used to going with the flow unless it was more troublesome than refusing, let alone why a voice in her head was ranting at her.

'-and... Hey! Are you even listening to me, fuckwit?!' The voice scowled...well, if a disembodied voice _could_ scowl, anyways, she thought, taking a moment to ponder the curiosity before shrugging it off and responding.

'Of course I am, I'm just checking to see if everything's here,' she thought back genially, spotting her phone charger lying haphazardly a little ways away on a gnarled root. 'You were saying...?'

The voice grumbled. 'I should just leave you to die,' it -she?- scowled.

'But then you'd "die" too,' she pointed out, not quite sure how she knew this, but meh, stranger things had happened, she thought, frowning slightly in thought as she rolled up the charger to put into her bag -thank jashin she hadn't had to bring all her textbooks along with her, though she did carry her psychology texts for some reason.

'You're welcome,' the voice snapped sarcastically, before pausing for a bit. 'Why the fuck do you have those things with you anyways? You don't have 102 today anyways!' She glared(?)

'I didn't mean you,' she responded, unfazed by her supposed alter-ego's (id's?) lack of 'elegance' and manner. 'And it's interesting. Might as well bring a book that's useful rather than just amusing, right?' She stated logically, frowning slightly at the choice of language.

She wasn't usually quite so...uncouth...

'Yeah, well, too bad, I am what I fucking am -and _that makes absolutely no fucking sense!_ ' the alt snapped, seeming quite irritated, even as she ignored the exceedingly annoying bluntness of the -outwardly- apathetic girl's thoughts. Clearly she was still half-asleep.

'That's quite rude, Shin-chan, and the "mindreading" works both ways you know,' the girl chided mentally, no longer looking around now that she's searched the general area, satisfied that everything that seemed to belong to her was now safely put away with the rest of her current belongings.

If a voice could eyeroll then she was pretty sure 'Shin', as she typically called the alter-ego, would have been. 'Yeah, yeah,' she drawled, giving her the distinct feeling that she was being mocked...

She probably was.

'Now what say we find our damn way out'a this fucking flora-maze before we actually get lost?' She asked scathingly.

"..." 'And we aren't already...?' She blinked.

If an ego could facepalm, she would have. '...that was fucking _sarcasm_...' Geesh, was she fucking stupid or was she actually still asleep? The annoyed voice wondered.

...Probably both.

The girl gave the slightest twitch, giving away the fact that she had 'heard' that...mind conversations could be so confusing.

'Now can we get goddamned going or are we gonna fucking loiter around 'til 'Karu wakes up? Cuz seriously, much as I don't mind her, she's fucking _annoying_ when she's spazzing and panicking -its cramped enough in here as it is!' The annoyed voice grumbled.

"..." The girl paused, tilting her head slightly to think about this, 'is it?' She wondered, completely unfazed by the previous allusion to the fact she may not be perfectly sane, as she had long since accepted the fact. '...Can you see in there?' She wondered curiously -she had always wondered what it would be like to live in her own mind.

'...' The voice gave a mental twitch, 'yes, of fucking course- well, no...not all the goddamn time. Not that I'd _want_ to,' the voice gave a shudder.

Strange things happened in that girl's mind... And to be quite honest, it scared her sometimes. Especially when she would get into a series and more characters -or, rather 'muses'- would appear in the strange dimension that was her mind.

She had never quite gotten over watching her more... _sadistic_...muses at their best...or worst, as the case may be. And _she_ was supposed to be the impulsive, 'evil' one...

Just goes to show how twisted a mind is that the dark and light seem to be reversed. She didn't seem to care, 'Hikaru' didn't see how sadism was wrong -or rather, she _couldn't_ being as densely oblivious as she was- and 'shin... God, sometimes she had a feeling that she had chosen the wrong person to inhabit as an alter-ego, but then, she would remember that others would either try to control her, notice something was wrong, try to get rid of her, or...well, it was just much easier to live in the mind of a girl who was at least _somewhat_ sane (or could at least pretend to be so), and already had a whole world inhibiting her mind.

"Muse World" as she called it. Muses and Characters came and went as it was, and she never seemed to bother to decide who was there, surprising even herself at times when a muse she didn't realize even existed in her mind 'appeared'...

Honestly, she was a strange girl, but to be honest, Shin probably couldn't have asked for (or picked) a better candidate aside from the fact that the girl was rather (quite, to be honest) lazy most of the time.

Still, that could be remedied given time, though, sadly, it was probably already too late to change her personality or thought pattern.

* * *

" **C** he, why the fuck did we have to get chosen for this stupid (scouting?) mission!" An annoyed silver-haired man tsked, swinging his triple-scythe easily with a single arm and bringing down several trees as he did so in his annoyance.

He had been complaining the entire time as he trailed his current -thankfully temporary- partner, who was about as annoyed though he didn't show it, trudging slowly at what most would see as a normal pace (still, slow for them).

The elder of the duo didn't say a word, instead, opting to ignore his zealously religious partner as he did, mind still turning over the curiosity of their mission, and the strange wording of their esteemed Leader-sama...

* * *

 _"I've called you two here today as there seems to have been a strange disturbance in the area not too far from one of the entrances to the HQ," the blank-faced and multi-pierced man explained, finger trailing over a map to where the supposed 'disturbance' was._

 _"It has come to my attention that a strange presence has appeared, and may be a threat to our current location," the man continued, his tone serious yet somehow slow enough to be considered leisurely to those around him. "I want you to capture this presence and bring it back, alive ."_

 _The two standing before him seemed to blink, before staring at each other, then back. Normally a Nin would just be dispatched to 'dispose' of the threat but he wanted this "presence" as he continued to phrase it, frowning at the wording as well as the pairing._

 _"Any questions...?" There was a moment of silence as the two temporary partners seemed to stare at each other. Eventually, the shorter of the two figured spoke up._

 _"Why assign us to this mission?" He asked as in 'why not send one of the usual groups...?'_

 _The orange haired and orange-eyed man seemed to pause. "I'm afraid that Kakuzu is absent, and most of the other teams are away on missions as well. Also, I don't trust any of the lower class tiers with this. On the other hand, Sasori, you are responsible enough to keep Hidan in control should he forget himself and the fact that the capture must be alive ," he explained, needless to mention that Orochimaru, that bastard, had betrayed them and left sometime after Itachi's induction into the Akatsuki..._

 _Sasori might have nodded, but no one could really tell and it wasn't like he would waste time on such a wasteful movement either, instead he just seemed to pause and think about this. "...I see," was all he said, as Hidan, the newer, silver-haired Jashinist nut of a member fumed, though it was true, he was quite likely to forget the point of the mission and just go on an all-out killing spree. Besides, Sasori was, at the moment, currently partnerless, though apparently Pein had already found him a new partner...who was still too rebellious to truly be considered a partner, but the brat would come around... They always did..._

* * *

 **H** idan continued to grumble and mutter irritably, cursing profusely as he followed the shorter, but bulkier figure before him. He was going to alert their supposed 'target' if he continued like this, Sasori thought, getting quite annoyed by the jashinist devotee. Honestly.

"Shut up," he said at last as they started to get closer, as always, voice distorted from storing himself within Hiruko, his main puppet and first defense (as well as offence but not many needed to know that, or at least, not many survived to know it).

Hidan had just started to cuss him out when a spiked and ridged tail whacked him upside the head -Sasori was careful to make sure he didn't get poisoned, of course, even if he was supposedly immortal, though mainly only because it would be a waste of the poison.

Hidan grumbled, muttering blackly for a moment, before shutting up as they came closer.

Apparently he wasn't quite as stupid as he seemed, Sasori thought. Good.

As the strange duo -an immortal religious nut and a human that had turned himself into a puppet (though some might argue he's more of an android, _coughcough_ )- got closer, they sensed the strange 'presence' that Pein had described, silently making their way to the source.

When they got there, though, they were surprised to see a girl that seemed to be talking to herself, something that confused the duo, but wasn't too alarming...yet.

* * *

 **H** ikaru had finally 'woken' about an hour or so later, if their inner clocks were working correctly, and, as predicted, had gone into a full out, spastic panic attack upon learning of their situation. Luckily, however, they had managed to calm her down, and she was now just sniffling pathetically in the corner of her mind...if minds had corners anyways. Still, at least she kept out of the way as Shin and she talked.

To be truthful, she didn't mind Hikaru's spontaneity or overactive ways. Quite frankly it amused her. Unfortunately it did tend to get pretty old after a while, so she had tuned the better natured of her two 'alter-ego's, as she had decided to dub them, for the less well-mannered one, who was unsurprisingly giving some good pointers to the girl.

'...so _don't_ fucking eat those, got it?' She informed the girl, who nodded absently.

"Yeah, green berries equal stomachache, got it," she murmured, saying it out loud as she was more likely to remember if she did...not that she probably would have needed to. She had already figured that the green spheres were just unripe until Shin had gone into lecture mode informing her that no, those were entirely ripe and totally bad for her...

'Good! Now pay fucking attention, if you see a...'

She decided not to point out that she was unlikely to eat them anyways, somehow just managing to refrain from actually saying so. Besides, it was always fun to see what her alternate selves -as well as muses- knew that she, herself, didn't. It was strange at times, since one would think a muse alter-ego was basically a part of a person's subconscious, but then, her mind had never quite played by normal rules.

Muses tended to develop in rather strange ways as well, due to that and she didn't always know what her muses were 'thinking' until she put pen to paper -or finger to keyboard- so it was always amusing, if not fun or creepy at times.

'-so don't even fucking try it and- hey... _Hey!_ Are you even listening, fuckwit?' Strange how a supposed figment of one's imagination could snap one back to reality, she thought, somewhat amused though her expression didn't show it.

She had never been good at showing emotions, though she could be considered a tsundere at times... To be honest though, it was more her conforming to the people she hung out with and/or talked to more than a confusion of self... Still, even an actor can come to feel like what they're acting, as proven by quite a few cases -many of which involving co-stars falling in love.

"No, sorry," she murmured, talking aloud again just to fill some of the quiet that the forest had seemed to lapse into though there was still an slight undertone of noise. "I spaced out after you started on the difference between venom and poison...or was it what is venomous and/or poisonous...?" She wondered, frowning. Huh, she couldn't remember... Oh well.

"Not like I see any difference in either anyways," she deadpanned, continuing to walk as she spoke.

Shin sighed. 'Alright, I'm only saying this one more time! And for your information its _venomous_ if it bites you and _poisonous_ if you ingest it...got it?!'

"Right, venomous equals bitten, poisonous equals eaten." She still didn't see too much of a difference, though -poison was poison no matter how it was taken in.

Shin grumbled and sighed, giving up for the moment. 'Fine. _Fine_ , be that way! Don't say I didn't warn you though!' She muttered, scowling.

"I won't," she nodded.

'Seriously though, pay attention, this could be life or death,' she grumbled.

"Or it could be some freaky lucid dream like-"

'Like that kami-damned KHR x Naruto one, I _know._ That was freaky enough as it is just seeing it, _don't remind me_ ,' she scowled.

The girl nodded, "okay," she agreed, knowing that her dream were kind of weird...like the 'bloody intestines' one where-

'And _don't even think about any of the other ones!_ ' the alt yelled.

"..." She decided to just not say anything.

Unfortunately, as she was talking to...er, herself...she didn't notice that she was being followed -not that she usually would have. For someone who could be so astoundingly astute, she could be rather oblivious to the simplest things.

Then again, these were S rank ninja stalking her if she were to be willing to believe it. And she would have were she not so overly realistic despite her overactive imagination.

The two rounin exchanged a somewhat confused glance...well, one of the two, anyways, the other was a puppet within a puppet so...

" _Oi-!_ " Hidan finally decided to move, stepping out into the clearing from behind the girl, making sure to stand far enough away to be able to point his scythe at her without nicking her, which he did (point it at her, that is). "You, what the fuck you doin' here, bitch!"

For a moment, the girl seemed to freeze before looking back with a deadpanned expression that only served to irritate him -but not as much as the annoying, if not strange, dismissal she'd given him after that.

"...figures it's a dream..." She muttered, turning away without another word, still wearing the deadpan expression.

Hidan twitched, "Why you...!" He scowled, trembling silently in rage before he lashed out, "You bitch! Like hell I'm a fucking dream! Don't just dismiss me like that, you fucktard!" He yelled, bringing his scythe back to swing at her when-

 _Clang!_

" _Calm down, Hidan,_ " Sasori's deeper, gravelly voice commanded, his smooth tenor distorted by the armor puppet he 'wore' under his Akatsuki Cloak. "We're not supposed to kill her."

Hidan tsked, "I don't care, bastard! No one fucking dismisses me like that!" He snarled, only to find himself lodged into a tree.

"I said to _calm down_ , Hidan!" The puppetmaster snarled, puppet tail still poised to strike.

As the two temporary seemed to be at strife for the moment, however, the girl had turn to stare at them blankly for a moment before finally twitching. "...yup, definitely a dream," she muttered.

If a puppet could sweat, Hidan was sure the puppet would...or face fault. Hidan was quite tempted to himself, much to his annoyance. Instead, he twitched, not quite willing to risk the pain of Sasori's poison -temporary as it would be- just for a single reaction to a mere chit of a girl that apparently wasn't even a fucking ninja! That just wasn't the kind of masochist he was, okay!

As he fumed, Sasori turned his...er...puppet's...? head to face her.

"Oh? And what makes you think that...?" He asked slowly, his patience longer that Hidan's though still rather short. Still, perhaps an explanation of some sort would help, the redhead thought, staring at the female with seemingly equally blank eyes.

"Because," the girl deadpanned slowly. "Pein would never pair Sasori and Hidan together..."


	3. The Path of Pain (AkaInsert Verse Pt 2)

**A/N::** Two part update! This is the second of two new updates for this file today. It's quite an old story, and there was another half-chapter that was scrapped that I wasn't going to post, but I ended up adding it in the end as a bit of a bonus anyway. After all, it's not guaranteed that I'll ever continue or finish this. If I ever decide to rewrite or polish off that third chapter then I guess we'll see about posting it as a story… Depends on motivation and interest, I suppose. Anyways, enjoy another part of this parody.

DISCLAIMER: Do I really need to repeat myself? I don't live in Japan, my name is not Kishimoto, and I most definitely do not own Naruto.

As per usual, this is self-beta'd.

* * *

 **Scrap 003. The Path of Pein (or The Reason Why Pairs Are Apparently Decided The Way They Are)** (Rated T+ for frequent cursing, Chapter 2 of 2 current updates for the Akatsuki-Insert!Verse)

* * *

 _"Because," the girl deadpanned slowly. "Pein would never pair Sasori and Hidan together," she said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world..._

 **S** hin face palmed -or, rather, she would have if she weren't so used to all the stupidity nowadays. Instead, she settled for a mental twitch.

Neither inhabitant of the female mind noticed the slight tension in the two males, who had frozen at the 'explanation'. By the time they might have, the two ninja had erased all trace of the shock they might have showed at her declaration.

In fact, Hidan was currently staring at her with disbelief, sorta gaping...oh, wait, that probably meant not all his shock was gone. Hidan's expression twisted into a strange look that the girl wasn't quite sure of but shrugged it off.

This was apparently a lucid dream -which would explain why Shin and Hikaru seemed to be most dominant in her mind, acting as Alter-Egos rather than the muses she had (originally) created them to be.

Hikaru was her more social and cheerful 'rule abiding' muse -one could say she was more of a 'copy' though, whose name- and personality- sake was that of a character from one of her very first series (which, she was reminded, that she really needed to actually get around to writing...though now that she thought about it, she, Hikaru, and Shin were strangely quite similar to the original Trio in a way...but off topic), while Shin -short for Jashin, actually- was a semi-canon yet original character for some of the Naruto fanfictions she was continuously restructuring in her mind.

Strangely enough, she could understand how they might be considered her 'Alter-Egos' though psychology would state that as an incorrect term. Still, it was close enough.

Jashin was a bit like her Id, despite all odds, though perhaps that might be better reserved position for Hikaru, strangely enough, who was more spontaneous and tended to rush in more without thinking. Shin technically didn't, preferring to think about things rationally despite her rash and uncouth nature. It was...interesting, to say the least. Each served as the opposite of what they were supposed to represent if one was still following this way of thinking.

Rather than the id, Shin was the ego (or superego, but she could never remember which was which); while Karu (short for Hikaru of course) was the id rather than the ego. And she, well, she supposed she was the balancing point. She was, if one decided to continue this path a bit more and throw in Multiple Personalities -which is now more commonly known as Dissociative Identity Disorder, by the way- then she was the main personality. There was just one difference. Unlike the usual with main personalities in DID, she was conscious of the other 'personalities'.

But I digress, she was moving entirely off topic, and the two Naruto characters in her dream were now staring at her strangely...

She blinked. "Wait...did I say that out loud?" She wondered, mostly to Shin.

'Yeah, _yeah you did_ , _fuckass._ '

"...Oh...oops...?" She blinked, getting the mental image -or feel- of an exasperated facepalm as she tilted her head.

What had she said anyways...?

'The bit about me'n 'karu... Huh. Where is she anyways...?'

She shrugged. "No idea..."

* * *

 **H** idan was staring at the girl with half rage and confusion, while Sasori just wasn't sure how to respond, really, especially as it seemed the girl was talking to herself again.

Glancing at Hidan, though, Sasori wondered if it was possible for an immortal to have an apoplexy before deciding that yeah, it was probable, but no, it probably wouldn't be as lethal as one might've hoped.

Damn. He was honestly starting to understand why the man always annoyed Kakuzu -and that annoyed him. Empathy was the first step back to humanity, and the whole point of turning himself into a living puppet was that he didn't want to be human. Granted there was the artistic aspect but...

Back to the matter at hand, he had been so surprised by her inane (insane?) ramblings that he had forgotten that he was going to ask her what she had meant by what she had said earlier... Until she turned her attention to them and told them not to mind what she'd just said (like they could -not mind it that is) and to forget about it.

"Like hell I'm gonna fucking forget about that, bitch! You're claiming blasphemy!" Hidan yelled, incensed, which was understandable considering that he was a zealous follower of Jashinism.

Sasori moved his tail to hover dangerously close to the violet-eyed man's jugular vein in warning, pretending to do as she asked, even as he filed it for later, to ask his previous unasked question.

The girl just gave them another blank look, like it was entirely obvious.

"Kakuzu would clearly kill off anyone other than Hidan, since he can't actually kill him. Although there are slight personality clashes, still, considering they're both religious-"

The two stared at her. Kakuzu was religious...?

"What the fuck do you mean that asshole's religious?!" Hidan had been so surprised by the (possible) revelation that he hadn't really cussed as much as he typically did.

The girl paused, before continuing. "Well, he basically treats making money like you do your religion -and a religion is technically considered a 'faithful devotion to an acknowledged ultimate reality or deity' and for Kakuzu that would be money. Or, well, to be more specific, 'currency'."

'Wow, did you actually fucking memorize that definition?' Shin asked sarcastically. She ignored her.

'Shut up,' she sent back, twitching slightly.

Okay, so maybe not. Still, the looks -well, look, since she could only see Hidan's expression- on their faces was amusing though. Hidan looked quite surprised by this revelation. If Sasori could show expression, it would probably be mildly surprised with a hint of awe at her way of thinking.

Whether it was awe at the stupidity of the fact she'd waste time thinking about such a thing or awe at how her mind seemed to naturally think, one might never know.

But if it were the latter, it would greatly explain why Pein wanted her alive. That kind of mindset might be useful, as there did seem to be logic and proof, as, for whatever reason, she had actually memorized that definition from Webster's Dictionary...not that anyone needed to know that...

On the other hand, Hidan's mind was sorta blown. Kakuzu and religious (and without the 'is not' in it somewhere in between) in one sentence just didn't seem to work. Yet somehow, this...this... _brat_ (he had been torn between bitch or girl, but she was younger than him so...) had somehow made it work...

Seriously, though, this was sorta breaking his brain... It didn't make sense, and yet it did... Damn logic. Damn it to hell and to Jashin's bloody mercy.

He fucking hated her.

* * *

 **E** ntirely unaware of a new found hate towards her (whether it was serious or not for the above mentioned reason will be seen to later, however), the girl seemed to be conversing silently with her alternates, which was currently going a bit like... this, actually:

'Aaaaw, but they seem kinda nice! Besides, it'd be rude to just run away...' Hikaru pout as Shin twitched.

'Nice?! They're trying to fucking kill you! ...us...what the fuck ever!' She snapped, muttering at the ditzier girl's way of thinking, while the third, and most important member of the trio right now, remained silent.

Why? It was amusing. That, and taking sides with either of them was never a good idea...well, usually. There were times when one or the other would have a purely genius idea, and then who was she to say no? No? Exactly.

Half paying attention to the mental argument, she watched the supposedly-not-real Akatsuki duo with mild curiosity. Why would her mind pair the two of them together? She wondered. Unless...

 _Unless,_ she thought in a sudden moment of genius (or stupidity, depending on who you asked), Kakuzu was absent and Deidara wasn't Sasori's partner yet! Oh, but what about Orochimaru...hmn... Maybe he betrayed them (already), and the others were absent for missions or something as well... She thought, nodding to herself.

But wait... She paused, suddenly thinking of something. Why would Pein send them after her...? I mean, wouldn't he normally just send someone out to 'dispose' of an intruder? And what about traps? Why hadn't they just had traps or something that only the Akatsuki would know about...?

She paused. Oh wait, had she said that all out loud again...?

Hidan nodded, and, surprisingly, so did the Saso-Puppet as she had dubbed his armor puppet thing (cuz that was too long a name and besides, "Saso puppet" just sounded awesomer).

"Oops..." She blinked, really needed to work on that mouth to brain filter.

"Damn right you do!"

She twitched. Like he had any right to complain.

Her only response was a scowl -huh, she said that out loud too, didn't she?

Hidan didn't bother to respond to that one.

Meanwhile, Shin and Karu had stopped arguing in circles to watch the on-goings, one snickering at the predicament while the other giggled. Well damn, looks like they all had some sadism in them.

The strange look on Hidan's face told her she'd spoken that bit out loud once again...oops.

* * *

 **S** asori was chuckling mentally. Too bad Kakuzu -or, in fact, any of the others; weren't here, because this was amusing as hell. Not even the time Orochimaru had accidentally walked into the meeting room in his pajamas, carrying plushies with him as he did, was had been quite as interesting. Granted, some of the creeper factor had taken away from it (the plushes having been of a chibi-Manda, one of his subordinates, and two known Uchihas, while he had been wearing pink pajamas with cupcakes and the symbol for 'fire' like that on the Hokage's hat dispersed on the sleepwear; unfortunately, he had also admitted he had ice blue pajamas with Sharingan and snakes on it too -entirely by accident mind you, but several of the less...experienced...ninja had been scarred for life. Especially as he also apparently wore a mud mask so that his 'skin didn't get dry'. Granted, the last thing was reasonable, but he had still been nearly unrecognizable when he had come in that morning...).

Oh well, he thought, unable to help looking at her rather curiously. She seemed to be rather good at putting herself into the mindsets of others and then deducing from what she could guess -as had just been proven- but how did she know about the Akatsuki, how they worked, who they were, and how they thought so well? Well, as far as she had shown (so far anyways), her statements had hinted that she knew much more than she'd said, though that bit about 'ids' and 'super-egos' and whatnot had been rather confusing.

Deciding to spare Hidan from too much more shock (as he was the only one who could really last and put up with Kakuzu at all, really) Sasori spoke up.

"Perhaps you'd like to ask our Leader why he sent us yourself?" He asked calmly. "He did request we bring you back alive, after all," the puppet he stayed in as protection distorted his voice so that it was deeper and more gravelly than it really was but, as a ninja, anonymity was a plus, so it really didn't matter.

The girl gave him a mildly curious yet confused look. "Why would he send someone for me and for them to bring me back alive?" She asked, startled. Clearly she didn't realize until afterwards when she spoke what she was thinking. Oh well, it was useful, though a bit confusing when she spoke of something they didn't know about (or could be deemed insane).

Hidan scowled. "Why don't you fucking ask him yourself, bitch," he muttered, glaring. This time, the girl just blinked, then shrugged.

"Sure, why not..." Sasori would've blinked if he really needed to, or sweat if he still had a human body.

Apparently she still thought this was all some sort of 'dream'... And apparently Hidan was thinking along the same lines he was, if the darkening look on his face was anything to go by...

* * *

 **Chapter 3 (Scrapped?: The Akatsuki Base)**

 **U** pon first glance, the girl seemed somewhat normal. Soft, like a civilian, despite the strange clothes she wore. Then again, it could easily be put off as civilian fashion from a different country. The glasses she wore looked expensive, compared to the usual, though they still looked efficient. The black, rectangular framed spectacles clearly weren't just for fashion.

As for clothes, she wore a strange outfit of white, grey, and faded brown. If Pein been able to describe them via the actual terms for them, he would have said she was wearing a grey t-shirt with mainly dull purple and darker grey decal, though leaves and flowers (roses, as he would've known if he had ever seen and known what they were) were in color, even if in faded or dull colors. Over that, she wore a white hoodie with a design that made it look like someone had scribbled the large black checkerboard squares on it. She also wore plain brown jeans that may have been a size too big though they fit around her hips well enough that it could be dismissed at part of the design. Apart from that, she wore what anyone typically wore under their clothes, as well as socks and strange looking white shoes that probably added an inch or so to her height. He would have called them strange, seemingly seamless shoes that went up just past her ankles -she would have called them boots.

Either way, her appearance was a bit strange, and aside from that, she was wearing a gold bracelet with three white stones that might have been opal, though he was no expert in stones or gems, so he couldn't honestly say. No matter though, overall, she still looked like some well off civilian, perhaps, if one didn't concentrate on the strangeness of her attire.

Of course, that wasn't what he was noticing at the moment, as he watched the (even in his mind) strange trio. The girl flanked on either side by men taller and far more intimidating (especially since Sasori was still within Hiruko, not that she could possibly know), and yet, she didn't seem intimidated at all despite Hidan's rather ugly scowl and Sasori's typical unnerving (to most people) presence.

No, in fact, she looked rather _bored_ , of all things. Only a spark of curiosity evident in the way that she was allowing her eyes to wander around the room, ignoring his presence (something which was rather annoying now that he was really noticing it) as well as those of the Akatsuki members on either side of her.

Overall, strange. Especially as she didn't seem to care that she was in the presence of S-Rank Missing Nin...

* * *

 **A** llowing her eyes to wander, she had to admit, the place was a lot nicer than she'd thought it be -oh, it had still been sufficiently dark -and possibly damp- with winding halls and nondescript doors as she would have expected, but it was also a lot cleaner and much less sinister (discounting the dark and long and somewhat confusing halls and corridors, and maaaaybe Zetsu, though that really wasn't the poor plant-man's fault) than she would have thought.

In fact, even as she stood between Hidan and Saso-Puppet (and Pein of course, can never forget one of Pein's marionette corpse-things -Yahiko or Yagihiko if she was remembering correctly, though she was preeeeetty sure it was the first), in the Akatsuki base and especially within their supposed 'Leader-sama's office, she couldn't help but think that...

That the room was goddamn _boring._

In fact, it looked like any other corporate office except for the fact that it was sparser, smaller, and hell of a lot darker (dark as in lighting, not atmosphere).

Shin gave a snort, clearly not impressed, while Karu sort of twittered, as if itching to add some life to the room...

Actually, her own fingers were twitching to at least add a little color to the room (even if it was dull or grey). Something she was sure at least one of the Ninja had noticed. She was starting to somewhat doubt that this was a dream as she'd originally believed, as her own belief was that Pein would have a much more awesome office or meeting room, or whatever room this was.

Then again, considering there were technically seven of him, and his main base was in Ame, perhaps not so far-fetched.

Annnnd she'd said that out loud again, hadn't she? She thought -said?- as she noticed that she was, once again, the center of attention.

Shin just snickered.

She sighed, "Joy..." She muttered, expression properly blanked of all previous traces of emotion that may or may not have been existent upon her face...

* * *

 **S** omehow, Pein managed to keep his face expressionless, despite the marginal surprise that may or may not have shown anyways, considering that the girl seemed to know quite a lot about him -them- in particular.

Of course, neither Hidan nor Sasori seemed surprised by how much she seemed to know if he was reading them correctly -which he more than likely was.

Which might have explained why she also seemed to be entirely unharmed, now that he thought about it. But _still_...


	4. TEAM (Motivation Verse, OC-Insert AU)

**A/N** : Whelp, ended up finishing another 'chapter's worth and a few extra little things that'll probably be posted (way) later. If I do somehow manage to get a third chapter down for this, I'll probably just post it as a separate story. This is mostly for scraps, after all.

Anyways, have another post for the Motivation!Verse for lack of a better name. (I should probably figure out a proper title soon, so the next one might end up being delayed, who knows. Still suck at titles, though.) Suggestions are always welcome, of course.

Also, might end up posting something from Sakura's Point of View in this AU at some point...eventually. Maybe if there's enough interest or I can type up a whole thing for it.

As per usual, I don't own Naruto, and everything is self-beta'd. Also, apologies because I suck at writing from Sasuke's perspective, and as you've probably noticed, my sense of titling is the best. ( _I'm sorry for trying to be too clever with the stupid acronym thing, okay_.)

Now, once again, I present: The next segment of the latest of Naruto!AU's by Hakuei Shirei.

 _The Art of Motivation_ : Featuring a strange child, a broody avenger, an unpredictable knucklehead, their Sensei, and the everyday crazy that is Team Seven.

* * *

 **Scrap 004. The Exceptional Art of Motivation** (Rated T/T+ Because Words)

* * *

 **I** t was over. Kohaku couldn't help but to feel relieved, to be honest. After all, they'd come so close to failing despite everything, but somehow… Well, _somehow_ they'd managed to do it. Maybe not in the way they'd expected, but Kakashi-sensei (the Jounin had insisted now that they were his 'cute little Genin') had still passed them nonetheless.

Of course, that didn't mean their teamwork hadn't needed some work, but it was probably better than what any other combination of said team might have been otherwise. Still, to think that they'd ended up cutting it so close…

Honestly speaking, the brunette _never_ wanted to go through any of that _ever again_...

* * *

 **S** ix was a hellish time to have to meet up. The fact that they'd had to awaken even before that had probably made it even worse (not even mentioning the fact that Kakashi would, of course, be arriving late). Still, they'd managed it somehow, even if Sasuke was the only one that looked anywhere near awake, as the trio met at the specified training ground in the note.

"M-ugh- morning," Naruto told the others blearily, unable to help the yawn that cut through his greeting.

"..." Sasuke, that asshole, hadn't said anything at all, nor had he even shown any recognition other than his usual silent, bastardy presence. Still, Naruto was far too tired to really pick a fight for the moment. Oh, well...

"...Good Morning," intoned a quiet voice, surprising Naruto (and gaining a brief flicker of a glance from the raven haired avenger beside them) and cheering said blonde up at least a little despite his sleepiness and hunger.

Well, at least he didn't look quite as bad as Kohaku though, seeing as the poor guy looked like he had gotten even less sleep than the blonde had. Still, he was so sleepy…not to mention hungry! The blonde sighed, only to offer a sheepish grin to the others as his stomach growled loudly.

"...Uzumaki-san, are you alright…?" The tone of concern in the otherwise blank faced brunette surprised the blonde, but he still laughed sheepishly.

"Ughhh, yeah. Sorry. Just kinda hungry," the blonde admitted as the sun began to rise. By this point, fifteen minutes had passed since they'd met up, yet Kakashi-sensei still hadn't arrived yet. "But man, that stupid Sensei, he's late! Even though he was the one to say not to be, huh?" He offered, feeling a bit more awake out of sheer irritation and bravado.

"..." His stomach growled again, and he sighed. Mannn, he didn't even have the energy to complain anymore…

"Here…" Looking up, the blonde found himself staring at...a plastic-wrapped bar?

"...But Kakashi-sensei said not to eat anything…" The blonde started, giving the brunette (and the bar) a regretful look. "We really shouldn't-" His stomach grumbled again, and the blonde winced. Ughhh…

"...Uzumaki-san," the brunette started, voice surprisingly firm as the surprised blonde looked back up at the brunette. "Hatake-san said not to eat breakfast," tired caramel eyes seemed to bore into the blonde, as if to say there was some other meaning to his words. Still holding the bar out to the quizzical blonde, the other seemed to realize that he still didn't get it, because he spoke up again. "This is a _snack_ ," he clarified.

"But...we might throw up…" The blonde continued unsurely. His resolve, however, was already wavering at the tantalizing nutrient bar that was still being offered to him.

"...It is still best to have something _to_ throw up, than to have nothing even if we did, Uzumaki-san."

"...It's just Naruto," the blonde started weakly as he realized that the other had been calling him 'Uzumaki' this entire time. Biting his lip in indecision, he continued to hesitate.

His stomach growled again, and Naruto's walls broke down. "Oh, fine, but if we get in trouble it's not my fault…" he protested weakly, taking the bar and practically tearing into it.

Oh man, that felt way better. His stomach wasn't complaining anymore, and he felt way more energetic now!

Hearing a snort, much brighter blue eyes glared at the condescending raven-haired male that might just (unfortunately) end up his teammate. "What the hell, Sasuke-teme! Why you always gotta be-"

A loud growl interrupted his words and he blinked. Wait a minute…

That definitely hadn't been him. His stomach was (definitely not satisfied, but) content, so there was no way it'd be his stomach so… Eyes trailing towards the direction he'd heard the sound from, he snort.

"What, were you just hungry too? Man, why didn't you just say so, you bastard! You don't have to be all condescending and shit!" The blonde declared, earning a dark glare from the ravenette.

"I was _not_ -" the Uchiha started to speak, only to be interrupted once more.

Naruto burst into laughter, almost completely missing the spots of red that decorated the raven-haired genin's cheeks.

Opening his mouth to retort, Sasuke's words died as another bar appeared before him.

"I don't need…" he started half-heartedly, already feeling his stomach rebelling at his decision. His will weakened despite Naruto's continued laughter (the idiot was rolling around the ground clutching his stomach while trying to wipe his eyes simultaneously, that _dobe_ ). The unimpressed toffee colored eyes that met his continued the job, as their owner's expression promised not be as judgmental as the biased blonde.

Sighing, the Uchiha snagged the bar, opening it. "Only because your explanation was logical, and _I'm hungry_ ," he declared, shooting a venomous sneer at the blonde whose laughter was only now dying down.

"Yeah, yeah. Just hurry it up before that stupid scarecrow gets here! I don't want to get in trouble because he showed up before you could even finish the stupid bar," Naruto declared maganimous...magnanimal… _He was being nice,_ okay! Even that stupid bastard should be able to understand that!

"Che," Sasuke didn't say anything, but he polished the bar off in record time, stuffing the wrapper into his pocket to get rid of later.

"Whatever, _dobe_." Another sneer.

" _What'd you say, you bastard…?!_ "

Clearly the energy boost the so-called 'snacks' had given them had brought them back to their normal selves.

Kohaku almost regret the decision when things got even louder than the stomach sounds...but at least it wouldn't make her hungry again prematurely, the brunette mused, settling down on the grass beside her bag (it always paid to be extra prepared, after all), as she chewed on her second bar and watched the arguing duo.

Really, why the two couldn't get along even for a short amount of time was beyond the brunette. But if they were going to keep arguing, she wasn't sure they'd be able to keep their energy up before the silver-haired Jounin arrived.

Making a decision, the brunette practically depleted the stock of nutrient bars she'd allotted for the day, throwing two more at each of her teammates. The quiet was almost worth it as the two caught the bars, if only out of habit (Naruto scrambling a bit to snag his before they touched the ground). Noting the looks from the two (one somewhat wary and quizzical, the other simply confused), she blinked.

"Just in case," was all she said, as the two exchanged an amazingly non hostile look and put them away.

Best not to let Kakashi know about them after all, and it wasn't like the brunette's logic wasn't sound. Lucky for them, the Jounin hadn't expected much from them to begin with, and so hadn't decided to hide himself and watch just yet. That would be saved for the last hour and half or so -possibly even two hours- before he deemed to show himself.

Nearly forty minutes had already passed by this point, but the trio of genin were simply too distracted to care as they settled into a somewhat awkward silence.

Too tired to really even care, Kohaku blinked slowly, bleary eyes and the warmth of the rising sun on her back far too comfortable for her to really care much as she began to nod off. And despite the two males of the group trying to ignore each other, it would be the sound of a dull ' _fwomp_ ' of a body falling that would finally catch their attention once again, as they turned in the direction of the sound to assess the situation.

For the second time that day, the two exchanged a glance of mutual agreement.

"...Man, that guy is weird…" Naruto muttered, scratching his hair, as Sasuke nodded. Neither moved to wake the brunette, however. They could do that when Kakashi-sensei arrived.

Kami knew the brunette needed it. The dark bags (or so they assumed of the markings) under the caramel eyed genin's eyes being further proof to the two, though their reasonings might have been different.

Sasuke thinking that the other would only slow him down otherwise, while Naruto figured he could just be nice and wake the poor guy up when Kakashi got here as thanks for the nutrient bars.

By the time Kakashi finally bothered to show himself, both the blonde and raven-haired boys would have dozed off at least once in the five hour wait, while Kohaku would continue to sleep straight through it.

* * *

 **W** hen Kakashi finally arrived at the training grounds (of course, scent and chakra both tightly coiled and masked to avoid detection 'just in case') to observe the trio of genin that might -just _might_ mind you- become his first genin team, the silver-haired Jounin was amused to find that two of three genin were practically sleeping.

Well, _almost_ sleep in the case of one Uzumaki Naruto, he corrected when the blonde shifted and yawned, glancing around blearily before addressing the still standing Uchiha.

"Ugh, is he seriously still not here yet…?" The blonde asked sleepily, seeming to watch enviously as the only girl of the group continued to slumber peacefully.

"Hn," was the only answer the Uchiha offered. Though the fact that he'd made any attempt at doing so surprised the Jounin. Just what had happened between the two to make them so amicable…? Or was it just that they were simply too tired to argue? The silver-haired Jounin had to wonder, almost - _almost_ \- wishing he'd come earlier.

Although, the fact that Kohaku be so comfortably asleep and clearly dead to the world might have bothered the Jounin who'd been hoping to bother the kids with his lateness, he was more amused that the other two had let her sleep.

Glancing at the trio between reading his beloved _Icha Icha Paradise_ , the Jounin kept his ears concentrated on the trio to catch any changes in the kids he planned to take under his wing should things turn out well. Still, it was amusing to listen to the apparent one-sided conversation that was going on in Naruto's attempt to stay away.

"Geez, that Scarecrow is super late," he muttered, head nodding a bit despite his attempts to straighten his back, arms resting on his knees as he shifted his pack, legs pulled up to his chest.

"Hn." 'Obviously,' the Hatake translated, flipping to the next page with a silent giggle.

"It's been four hours!" The blonde complained, sighing and stretching his limbs when it became clear to the blonde that staying in the same position made staying awake a futile effort.

"..." 'Four and a half, actually, but it's not like _I'm_ counting,' Kakashi translated, listening to the rustle of clothes as the last Uchiha shifted.

"Damnit, why is he still not here yet…" moaned the blonde, just as Kakashi read to where… Oh, he snickered silently, he was almost at the hot spring scene.

"...Hn," 'Hell if I know, but it's getting hella annoying standing here and waiting.'

"Man, is that _all_ you can say, bastard?" Naruto scowled at the the ravenette's back, though his tone wasn't heated in the least.

"..." Kakashi giggled silently, the clothes were coming off again, _boy_ were things going to be getting hot, he grinned.

No pun intended.

"Ughhhh, I'm sooooo hungry…" The blonde groaned, pressing a hand against his stomach as if it would help. Clearly sulking as he shifted so he could safely flop onto his back. (Kakashi, of course, had yet to realize that the trio had bent the words he'd given them and that Naruto was actually mourning the loss of the nutrient bars the still sleeping Kohaku had given them.)

" _Che_ ," Ohh, the raven was annoyed~~ Kakashi grinned, eyes trailing back to the potentially explosive situation between the two boys. That had been clear irritation in the Uchiha's tone, and Naruto's blue eyes were flashing now too. (Again, he remained unaware that it was more Sasuke's way of stating he was _not_ giving him either of his…not that he could have, he'd polished his own off just before Kakashi had decided to leave his apartment.)

" _Bastard!_ " Naruto started, giving the raven a hot look, only to wilt as his stomach grumbled. Poor thing had high metabolism, no doubt not eating breakfast would be near _crippling_ for the boy…

Well, okay, Kakashi was just being dramatic. It wouldn't be so bad once the boy had some adrenaline running through his veins, but it would still mean none of them would be able to go at full strength.

" _Uuughhhh….._ I just want to get this over with, already…" The blonde started morosely, curling back into himself as if doing so would be able to conserve his energy. Even Sasuke seemed to agree as his shoulders wilted (or hunched, same thing really, in this case). The ravenette giving a slight sigh that was pretty much hidden in the far louder, and gustier version the blonde gave.

Kakashi skimmed past the next chapter as things wound down once again. He'd read it quite a few times already, but Jiraiya's writing never failed to capture his attention...Or, well, some of it once he'd read it a few times. The words being more reminders for him than being read once he recalled the basics.

Well, there were quite a few books in Jiraiya's series by now, so was it really so surprising that even the copy-nin needed reminders now and then? And it wasn't like he planned to memorize it with his Sharingan. (Obito could remain the pure virgin he remembered, thank you very much. He was _not_ going to further corrupt his previous teammate!)

Slipping the book shut as the time hit eleven, he brought himself just outside of the training grounds and removed the jutsu he'd been using to keep his presence hidden, making sure to remain just outside any of their ranges (or more importantly, Kohaku and Naruto's ranges, since they had higher senses, Sasuke had yet to learn to track Chakra as far as he was aware) before _slowly_ and _leisurely_ ambling his way over, unsealing the backpack full of bento's that he'd prepared just for the occasion as he did.

Maybe not as good as a homemade one (Kakashi wasn't the best cook, after all, hence the restaurant-brought bento's), but it'd probably be good enough for a few hungry genin. As he did so, he completely missed the short exchange in which Naruto mourned his long-since eaten nutrient bars. The things had been filling for a while, but for a growing boy, they really hadn't been enough. Something even Sasuke agreed to, even if his metabolism wasn't quite as high as the blonde's.

* * *

 **T** he first thing that Kohaku would notice upon awakening would be the slowly clarifying background noise that would reveal itself to be her two teammates. The next would be the realization that she'd fallen asleep as she slowly straightened, sitting up in a single motion that brought the other two's short conversation to a halt.

She wasn't quite sure what had woken her (something she'd later realize was actually the not-yet-familiar steps entering the range of her senses), but she felt far more rested than she had upon awakening in the cursedly early hours of the day.

Naruto and Sasuke both snapped their heads in her direction, surprised by the sudden awareness of the genin they _still_ believed to be a boy.

"Hey, hey! You're finally awake!" Naruto grinned, plastering the expression over the slight grimace he would've made otherwise as his hunger made itself known. Thankfully not nearly as loud if at all seeing as the blonde had finally figured out a position that would keep his stomach quiet.

Part of it being from experience, seeing as Naruto had known _hunger_ before. And this really wasn't as bad, to be honest, but his stomach could still be super loud when it wanted to be, unfortunately for the blonde.

Sasuke's only reaction once he figured that it was just the brunette was a quiet "Hn" of acknowledgement as he, too, remained in a position that he felt would make his hunger less obvious, arms crossed and stomach muscles clenched as he refused to show any signs of weakness.

Even Kohaku was getting hungry again, to be honest, having already digested the bar she'd eaten before falling asleep quite a while ago. The only reason _her_ body hadn't made any complaints being the fact that her brain was technically shut down to the bare minimum as she went through her sleeping cycles. Now that she was awake (and aware), her stomach was starting to realize that its calls for food would be noticed if it did.

Blinking slowly at the bright, sunny blonde and glancing at the raven-haired Uchiha that refused to look at either of them (to the point of having his back turned), she opened her mouth to try to slow the flow of chatter that had steadily built from the blonde's lips, only to stop as the sound of a leaf crunching met her ears.

"-and he's already _five hours late_ , can you believe it? And-" It'd taken a moment but, eventually, Naruto realized that Kohaku wasn't really listening, and, in fact, _hadn't_ been listening, as he paused in his chatter. "... _Ne, ne,_ Kohaku! What is it? Is there something interesting over there?" Naruto asked, clearly curious as he moved to take a look at whatever it was that had the brunette's attention.

Sasuke gave the two a sideways glance, curious despite not wanting to admit it.

Kohaku didn't answer though, a blank look that the two would later begin to recognize as a frown from the slight tilt of the lip forming on the toffee eyed genin's face. Eyes sharp as she tried to pinpoint the sound, she eventually came to note the sound of sandals moving against grass, gaze boring into the direction that they had come from.

By now, even Naruto was starting to notice it, as he focused his senses, face scrunched as if it would help any, only to twitch slightly as his ears were the first sense to catch anything. Still curious, and yet still completely unwilling to admit it, Sasuke turned, narrowed eyes sharpening as his superior sight caught a hint of silver just past a few of the trees that made the slightly winding path to the training grounds.

Soon enough, all three could clearly see and hear the Jounin, as he offered a one eyed smile and raised a hand in greeting.

"Hey there, kiddo's. Morning!" He offered, seemingly without a care and unaware of the fact that he was over five hours late, now.

Three sets of unimpressed eyes met his, and the Jounin almost sweat a little.

* * *

" _ **Y**_ _OU'RE LATE!_ " yelled Naruto, a scowl decorating the blondes face in the clearest indication of the group's mood as even _Sasuke_ stated his displeasure, despite the fact that the blonde beside him had drowned it out with his own. Kohaku hadn't been unaware when Naruto had told her that Kakashi was _five hours late_ and so really wasn't impressed. She wasn't mad, however, not like Naruto or the scowling Uchiha that seemed to be glaring into the man's soul.

...Actually, she wouldn't be surprised if the Sharingan _could_ do that, if she were being honest, but that was neither here nor there. For the moment, she shot the man an irritated look as he sighed. Still, she couldn't really stay mad, even if _five hours_ had been more than pushing it. She'd known that the Jounin had a habit of never being on time, but five hours? _Really?_

Resisting the urge to sigh to herself, Kohaku resigned herself to her possible future of loud teammates and late Sensei.

Even she deadpanned at the excuse he started to give, however.

"Well, you see… a black cat crossed my path…" The excuse was never finished, but all of the genin could figure out the rest as two-thirds of the genin glared while the last sent the Jounin a clearly disapproving look that bored into the man just as much as the glares did. (There was an _actual_ frown and everything!) Seriously, if that was the lame sort of excuse he was going for, she wasn't sure being a genin student under the man would be worth the trouble.

Especially seeing as the man had had the gall to make her wake up at _inhuman hours_ just to make them wait until hours past the rising of the sun without even allowing them to eat an actual meal before all of said -excuse her language- _bullshit_.

She couldn't even stay mad once she remembered the short if concise note that had been left on the dining table for her to find.

Six words, _six_ , and a henohenomoheji that had been scrawled on a small square of paper left on top of an empty bento box. ' _The bento was delicious. Sensei approves_.' Really? _Really?_

The only way said box could have been left there, would have been if the man had _broken into the apartment_ to so do, as well! Wasn't breaking and entering supposed to be a _crime...?_

Okay, so maybe her look had been a little stronger than she'd noted, but honestly, that devil of a Jounin probably deserved it. Especially if those were the kind of flimsy excuses that he gave _everyone_ for his lateness.

Smoothing her expression and blinking in an attempt to relax her eyes, she watched as the man cleared his throat, setting an alarm clock atop one of the wooden posts that served as training dummies.

"...Maa," he started, setting the alarm on said timepiece as he continued to speak. "Yosh, it's set for noon," he continued, pulling out a set of jingling bells that he dangled from his fingers for the three puzzled genin to see.

"Your true task for today will be to take these bells from me by noon," he informed them, shaking the bells to make them jingle once more. "Those who fail, get no lunch," he continued. "In fact, I'm going to tie whoever doesn't to one of those stumps and _eat my lunch right in front you_ ," he told them.

...Yep, definitely deserved it, Kohaku thought as all three made various expressions ranging from her own deadpan to the horrified and clearly unimpressed. Beside her, Naruto groaned as his stomach growled, both of his fellow genin's expressing their displeasure at the announcement at the same time, despite their owners' attempts to look casual.

The thoughts running through their heads were probably obvious to the trained Jounin.

As the two dark-haired genin were trying to get over the somewhat embarrassing episode, Naruto blinked, tilting his head quizzically as he finally made note of what was going on.

"Huh… But wait, why are there only two bells?!" exclaimed the blonde as he pointed at said set of bells dangling from the man's fingers.

Kakashi smiled, clearly having been waiting for the outburst as he purposely jingled the bells again.

"Hm~ Well," he started as if musing though the jovial expression soon turned rather serious as he spoke. "There are only two so at the very least, _someone_ will have to go the logs~" He practically sang, shaking the bells again. "Said person will, of course, have failed the 'mission'...and will be sent back to the Academy~"

* * *

 **W** earing a dark grin, Kakashi had to resist the urge to giggle (giggling wasn't very threatening, after all), continuing. "It could be one of you, or it could be _all three_ of you. Who knows~?" Smoothing his expression back into that of his usual expression of boredom and neutrality (one that suddenly brought the words of a far-too-green fellow Jounin to mind 'so _hip_ and _cool_ , my rival!' accompanied by the obnoxious laugh that made him want to twitch). "Feel free to use your weapons… After all, you won't be able to take these bells unless you come at me intending to kill," he finished, pulling the bells back into his hand as he did so.

Silence met his declaration and he almost wondered what the trio could possibly be thinking. Were they thinking it might be easy as he'd allowed himself to get hit by that chalk eraser? Were they underestimating him because of the mask he'd worn? (No pun intended, of course.)

Well, he probably wouldn't have to wonder for much longer, as the trio seemed to exchange a glance. Surprising, as it seemed that they were already building a sense of camaraderie, but the Jounin had to wonder if it would last against his test. A nervous laugh brought his attention back to the blonde that reminded him so much of the Yondaime and his wife, and the silverette had to suppress the urge to flinch at the blatant reminder of those he'd lost, not even daring to think any farther on the matter, before he remembered his failure to save Obito as well.

And if the taunt he responded to Naruto's words later were a bit harsher than he'd intended, well, at least he knew the blonde would recover from the barbed words that escaped him before he could fully stop them, even as he mentally winced. Too caught up in the blonde that he both yearned to teach yet reviled for all the pain he caused simply by existing that he didn't notice the long look the two darker haired genin exchanged.

As it was, the blonde's almost anxious laugh (that reminded him so much of flowing red hair as well as the just as obnoxious laugh of a certain goggle-wearing teammate, and- no, no, _no, Kakashi stop thinking about him. Stop thinking about her and Sensei and all the stupid things you've done, the precious people you've lost. You idiot, stop thinking about the past and concentrate on the future, the here and now!_ ) traveled easily in the otherwise empty clearing. ( _Stop thinking about them, stop-stop-stop! You have a_ mission _to do, Kakashi!_ ) And it was only the thought that he still had a 'mission' to finish that would let him compartmentalize enough not to be stuck in the past, as the blonde kept talking.

(Even if it wasn't healthy.)

"-slow you couldn't even dodge a blackboard eraser! We could really end up killing you!" The blonde exclaimed, looping his arms behind his head in false bravado as he fought the urge to laugh nervously again.

(Who cared, so long as he could continue to function?)

"You know, in the real world, it's those who hold _no talent_ that often bark the loudest," he deadpanned.

(So long as he could do what he was expected to do. It didn't really matter, did it?)

"Well, ignoring the _dead last_ over there, you can start when I give the signal~"

Kakashi smiled, the expression stilted, and more than likely forced, but uncaring as he goaded the blonde, knowing just what would happen but still doing it, ignoring the churning feeling of guilt that settled into his gut like a storm.

Even knowing what would happen, it would still end up chilling him when he came to realize that, by compartmentalizing so much and putting himself on automatic, he might actually have ended up killing the blonde that was the legacy of two of his most precious people if he hadn't managed to catch himself in time…

Maybe he should rethink having those sessions with the Yamanaka, he thought, forcing his heart to beat normally and _not_ at the rapid adrenaline fueled pace that it wanted to upon realizing what he'd nearly done.

(He still knew he wouldn't go to the sessions, though. Not even if the Sandaime suggested it…though that didn't cover any _commands_ his Hokage might end up giving him, understanding and forgiving as the man might be...)

* * *

' _ **D**_ _obe…! Dobe! ...Dobe!'_ The words echoed in the blonde's head, fueling the annoyance that was rapidly turning into an angry rage, as he grit his teeth. Just who did that guy even think he was?! The blonde wondered, trying not to clench his hands, knowing that he'd only end up drawing blood as he did. (His healing factor was freakishly fast, and if either of the others noticed his bleeding or how fast he healed…)

He didn't notice his teammates beside him, as he all but zeroed in on the man. The only thing on his mind being the words spoken and the infuriating Jounin before him. Here the blonde had actually been _worried_ about him, and he just...he just _threw it back in his face_. Not even Sasuke was that much of a bastard!

And sure, Sasuke called him a dead last all the time, but hearing it from this guy… Just the way he _said_ it pissed him off, and Naruto really wasn't even sure why. He'd only been trying to play nice, even if he might have gone a little overboard about it. But if he didn't want that courtesy?

Well, fine!

 _Fine,_ two could play at that game! Naruto all but growled, mind too clouded with the burst of hatred that suddenly consumed him as he pulled out a Kunai and yelled, roaring his rage at the silver-haired man as he dashed in…

* * *

 **T** he sudden change in the atmosphere had been clear as day the moment the Jounin before them had spoke. Naruto could be obnoxious, it was true, but there really hadn't been anything that should have incited the sudden change as the man blew off Naruto's (and their) worries.

It hadn't been long, but even Kohaku knew that Naruto wasn't actually a bad person. A bit obnoxious, yes, but…

She shared a look with Sasuke. It was the first time they seemed to agree on something in regards to Naruto, even if the raven-haired genin seemed to ignore or look down on the blonde more often than not. There had been a moment of shared hesitation. Naruto, more and more, seeming to be the voice that asked the questions they didn't really feel like verbalizing as the blonde questioned whether it was really safe to go at the man with such intentions.

(It only took one slip to end a life, after all.)

And surely the man could've worded things a _little_ differently? Oh, it wasn't that Kohaku doubted the man's skills. He was quite a famous Shinobi, after all, but even with the other two more likely than not oblivious to the man's skill and rank, even Sasuke looked hesitant.

His reason for being so maybe not quite the same, but for Kohaku, who preferred to _know_ things, who still fell prey to the idea that _maybe Hatake Kakashi isn't quite as strong as he's known to be_. That maybe, just maybe, the man had lost some of his edge in the time between now and back when he was far more well known. Even if she doubted she was at the other's level.

Infamous ninja were heralded as such in the Bingo Books (even if she wasn't supposed to know about said things yet, considering that she had barely even started attending the Academy before she'd first caught a peek at her uncle's copy of said item) for a reason, after all. And even with two bells…

Well, she'd be more than happy to help either of the others, regardless of possibilities.

Maybe her uncle would allow her to become his apprentice if she failed anyway. (A part of her mind felt something niggling at the thought of one of them being sent back. Even if she couldn't quite figure it out right at that moment. Teams of three genin and one Jounin Sensei...but who knew if genin could be mixed and matched into another group. So did she really want to risk being wrong about it…?)

Even if she'd ended up with one of the highest scores out of the girls on the Final Test that had given her the hitaeate she wore around her neck, it wasn't like there was much she could do against a Jounin, after all. Regardless of the fact that she had basically been at a high mid-level if only because she tended to practice more at _home_ than at school.

Like she wanted to stay in the ring where everyone's attention was on her for much longer than she had to.

(Needless to say it'd been a surprise to the instructors when she'd done _far_ better in her physicals than they'd expected, the day of the Exam. Not so surprising that she'd pretty much tied for top marks on the paper quiz, considering she did _that_ quite diligently at least. So was it really that surprising that she'd ended up top of the girls? Regardless that no one actually seemed to realize she was one if they didn't actually pay attention… She was pretty sure the Inuzuka, and maybe the Aburame and Nara might have figured it out. Maybe not the Nara if he didn't pay attention to said details, though. But anyone with high enough senses, she supposed.)

Paperwork was easy enough, as most of it was covered either in class or by the book, that it wouldn't really matter if she put her all into it. And Ninjutsu… Well, she had a Jounin for a guardian, and she practiced pretty much every day (some of it was surprisingly useful in housecleaning, if you knew how to apply said training), not to mention that her uncle would sometimes give her tips or mention other tricks and such while he was at home. Sometimes even helping her train and teach her a few things (whatever he thought she could handle) if he was feeling up to it. A rare occurrence to be sure, but an occurrence that always left her with something _useful_. Useful skills were, obviously, useful to have. As was the art of figuring out the minimal chakra needed to use a jutsu.

Conservation of energy was always important, after all.

Still, the fact that she had a far larger chakra pool than the average kunoichi her age was a definite advantage. Most of it coming from hard work that had to be put in as well as clan genetics. The Mikazuki had been a mid-sized clan prior to the night of the Kyuubi, after all. Maybe not as big as the big-name clans like the more well-known ones, but big enough to be considered a clan even if they didn't actually keep clan _grounds_...technically speaking.

(Clan laws had been interesting though, which was why she'd felt free to take her maternal family's last name despite still being considered a Mikazuki… Actually, on official documents her name was listed as Mikazuki-Tsukino Kohaku. Despite the fact that 'Tsukino' should have come first as it came before Mikazuki's 'Mi' in the Japanese Alphabet, it had still been listed first due to it being the Clan Name. As far as she was aware, however, the only ones who got to see the actual documents where she was listed as such were high ranking officials, and all her school and everyday documents simply used 'Tsukino' for her surname. Clan Politics and Workings were interesting enough, but as far as she was concerned, only in theory. As soon as her Uncle had progeny, she was going to place the entire Clan under said progeny's control. As it was, her Uncle was currently acting head. If she wasn't sure that her Uncle wouldn't take the reigns completely, she'd have shoved everything onto him seeing as he did have the right to contest for the position of Clan Head. He was her father's younger brother after all… but she was digressing.)

Distracted as she had been with her own thoughts (while Sasuke had been eyeing the Jounin, mind running through various options he could take), it had been quite startling to suddenly find a yelling, vivid blur rushing past.

"-! Uzumaki-san-!" She called out, too startled to do much else aside from falling into a defensive stance purely out of habit.

Both Sasuke and herself were startled by the sudden movement and swift retaliation as they watched the man turn Naruto's own weapon against him. (Of course he would, he was a Shinobi, after all! She thought almost hysterically.) Her eyes were visually wide as she took in the sudden changes in alarm.

"Now, now. Don't be so hasty, I haven't even given the signal, yet," the man intoned, dull slate somehow staring down at the trio despite the fact they weren't even standing together. The dangerous aura that had spiked just moments ago not quite dissipating as the silky words slid around their necks, tightening around them like a subtle noose.

Going soft?! As if! He was clearly still more than strong enough to take on a couple of genin at the very least. And they were supposed to get one of the bells from him somehow?!

She resisted the urge to swallow, almost distantly noting through her senses that Sasuke had actually done so. Pushing the sound of furiously beating hearts against a single steady beat, she wondered just how she could have deluded herself into thinking she might have had a chance.

Maybe if they worked together…

But no, the man had already circumvented that option by only offering _two_. Like they could've taken him on with just two genin fresh out of the Academy (and what of the third? What there? Was he expecting them to betray each other just to get those bells? ...wait… something in her mind niggled at the idea, but escaped just as easily as her mind became distracted by the icy fear that had spiked at the sudden aura).

Ko' couldn't help the line of sweat that ran down the side of her face, just as she was sure the others had likely broken into sweat at the oppressive aura that the Jounin was exuding. (Whether it was purposeful or not was another question altogether…)

* * *

 **S** asuke watched with wary eyes as dull, slate grey eyes bored into them.

"Seems you're finally prepared to come at me with the intent to kill," the man droned, "Have you finally acknowledged me?" Dark eyes watched as the man kept the Dobe effortlessly in place, Kunai still pointed at the back of the blonde's head as he droned on.

So _this_ was a Jounin. Impressive.

"Hehe," the man laughed, dull eyes still watching as he chuckled. "It seems I might be beginning to like you guys~"

Sasuke began to slowly and discreetly prepare to move. Any head start would be good for now, as the raven ignored the almost condescending tone that followed the sudden lift in intent. Because that was all that it could've been, that oppressive aura that had pushed down on them all (if only for a second).

"Alright then, let's get going. Ready…?" The silver haired man began, allowing the three to get in a ready position before speaking up once more. " _Start!_ "


	5. A Strange and Possibly Psycho Addition

**Notes** : Posting because I found thing and felt like it.

I've had this on file (or rather, I've _had_ this one file...along with a bunch of other incomplete, scrapped, and/or forgotten typing's) for quiiiite a while now….a few years, in fact. Possibly more.

Either way, thought I should at least post these for reference if nothing else. Not really planning to continue or finish some of them, after all. A couple more old ones, and then maybe an extra (not quite a chapter) for my Motivation!Verse if I can scrounge up the will to type it. Slightly stuck, but if I do end up continuing it, it'll likely end up as its own story, yay~?

Anyways, onto the thing.

 **Disclaimers:** I don't own Naruto. If I had, things would have ended a bit (a lot) differently… Not to mention I am, unfortunately, not male. Nor is my name 'Kishimoto'. Oh well. _C'est la vie._

 **Warnings:** Old plox and crackiness. (No, seriously, I'm pretty sure this is crack.) OC-Insert/SI ish.

Edited only for grammar and spelling with no Beta. Also, this is one of...quite a few inserts into the Naruto world I have.

Whelp. You have been warned.

* * *

 **Scrap 005. Konoha's Strange and (Possibly) Psycho Addition** (Rated T/T+ for Language)

* * *

"...s she is awake…?" A strangely familiar, hyperactive and impatient voice was the first thing she noticed. The second? Well, the second was the fact that the world as dark.

...Either that, or her eyes were closed.

She reached a hand up, groaning a bit as she rubbed her eyes, sitting up slowly as she did so.

Yup, her eyes were shut.

She blinked, staring blearily at the blurring world as she ignored the voices of the pinkish-red, orangey-yellow, blue-black, and...green...blue….and, uh…. taller… (tallest?) blob and its counterparts.

"...Who the fuck hit me in the side of the head with a goddamn trix truck…?" She muttered, covering a yawn.

And why the hell was her bed so dusty? She wondered, unaware that she'd spoken aloud as she mumbled, feeling around for her glasses, eyes squeezed nearly shut again as she tried squinting in various ways in an attempt to make things _focus_.

The clearing was silent as she did so, the sound of her mumbling and the shift of clothing the only sound that permeated the air aside from the call of birds and wildlife as she continued to feel around in hopes of finding her glasses….or something.

Finally, someone broke the surprisingly awkward silence (not that she'd noticed, too busy mumbling and squinting as she tried to find the damn things.

"Uhm...Are you looking for these, by any chance…?" A high, prepubescent (but probably still female) voice asked as the group of colorful blob-things stopped shifting, and the pink-red blob shifted closer, the world becoming clearer to the still tired, sleepy, and not-quite-all-there looking brunette.

"Wai- Sakura-chan, what are you doing-?! She could be an enemy!" The first hyper-active loudmouth directed at the pink….ah, it was a person. Huh. Pink hair… She had _pink_ hair…

The previously blobby orange….no, wait, orange blob flailed…. hmm, now that she could actually see properly… blond hair… bright orange track suit…. whisker-like scars or birthmarks (whatever they were)... That kinda looked like Naruto….and he was talking to….

Her eyes trailed back to the bright red wearing pink haired girl.

So much more conspicuous than the orange.

 _So much more conspicuous…_

Never mind, she thought, deciding not to think about it too much, as she thanked the pink...ette…?

"Ah, thanks…. 'm blind without 'em," she….tried to smile. Was that a smile? She hoped it was a smile…. shaking her sleeve out before rubbing her muddy-brown eyes again.

Actually, now that the sun was showing again, they probably looked more caramel-ish…. nope, just the light., Her irises were dark brown.

Vision returned, she blinked as three kids that looked like they'd stepped out of a manga (quite literally, out of a manga) and a man stared back down at her with….mixed expressions as far as she could tell.

...She was surprisingly calm as she greeted them, though she might later categorize it as shock due to the 'sudden changes'.

"...Hello, Sakura, Sasuke, Naruto, Kakashi…." She nodded, somehow managing to look cool as a cucumber….

….why was it called a cucumber anyways? Those things were just stupid green and lesser imitations of watermelons…..at least those had taste...and cabbages...er...lettuce made good salads among other things.

…. _Cucumbers were a useless fruit-veggie-thing_ ….

Ah, her mind was wandering, she realized, blinking as she found herself staring back into her crossed legs, hands resting loosely in her lap.

"Have any of you, possibly, seen my laptop or my bag?" She continued, quite clearly thinking this was either a dream or a hallucination….probably brought on by the large doses of caffeine she'd had in a short amount of time….a _very short amount of time_. It was highly likely that all that caffeine she'd been imbibing as of late were causing her to hallucinate about an anime she'd not seen in...a while, now that she thought about it.

She'd gotten pretty far in though, missing only the most recent...eight...ten? chapters, give or take.

Then again, she never did have the greatest attention span, though 400+ chapters later, she was...bound to get bored of it, right? Of course.

….Probably. She hadn't been catching up to anime, either, though it mostly covered portions of the manga...huh. She'd spaced out again.

But anyways, all she knew was that Madara was a prick, Kabuto was obsessed, and- wait, now wasn't the time to think about that, she blinked, watching as the ninja immediately put up their guard.

….Seriously, just how much time passed between her mind's ambling?

"...Who are you and how do you know our names…?" the Kakashi-lookalike asked (or demanded), eyes narrowing as he held a kunai up in what was probably supposed to be a threatening manner...

It just made her want to grab it, though, no matter how much of a bad idea it probably was.

Instead, she gave him a blank look that probably came across as something of an insult….probably that he was an absolute moron as she thought about it. Even if this was a dream -and not a hallucination- it was lucid. Also, hallucinations could sometimes affect the actual body if the brain believed it was real enough, so she decided to play it safe (besides, who knew what could happen if she was hallucinating and reached out….if she was in the kitchen…..lots of pointy things. Lot of _sharp_ and _pointy_ things.)...

"You were talking to each other when I woke up," she responded calmly, staring at Kakashi for a moment before deciding to take a look around, taking note as she noticed that Sakura's hair was still long, and Naruto was annoyingly hyper (especially considering she'd just 'woken up' so to speak), Uchiha was an ass (just cuz, she never did like Sasuke)... Kakashi…. Kakashi, on the other hand, was not reading his Icha-Porn.

Huh, how surprising….go figure.

"I told you not to yell so loudly, stupid Naruto!" Sakura….'chided'...as Sasuke snort, Naruto responding with a line that started out more like a whine.

"But Sakura-chan….!"

Kakashi, on the other hand, continued to study her, revealed eye wary, but other showing no other sign of tenseness…

Well, to the kids, anyways.

"Ah, I see… Well then, how about we all _formally_ introduce ourselves then…?" he asked, tone easy, but clearly fishing for information.

A sudden wave of deja vu washed over her.

She shrugged. Waiting for him to continue. Clearly she was still in shock, she decided, as he spoke.

"We'll even go first," cue eye-smile. Or whatever you wanted to call it.

"I'm Hatake Kakashi, my likes are secret, my dislikes are brats, and I'm a ninja from Konoha," he spoke…..disturbingly sweetly, as he prodded the raven-haired avenger beside him, a familiar orange book already in hand as he attempted to play off his normal reactions...for the kids' sakes, anyway. "Sasuke."

"...Hn…" was all the response he got. "Uchiha Sasuke. No particular likes, I dislike idiots and traitors, and my ambition is to kill a certain traitor," he recited monotonously, as the brunette nodded, even if a bit slowly.

By a psychologist's standpoint….

Sasuke was one messed up kid.

Sakura spoke next, beaming cheerfully. "Hi! I'm Haruno Sakura, but you can just call me Sakura!" she smiled, "I like…" she giggled, "Oh, but I _hate_ …" she muttered scowling, before moving on, "Ah! But I want to be…" She blushed and giggled again, "I hope we get along!" she exclaimed, clearly thinking that they were fine just because 'sensei' was acting normal again.

If the brunette had one word for the Sakura of now…

Hmm...maybe…. 'idiot'? Obsessed would work just as well… No, wait!

 _Fangiiiirrrllllllllll._

Ugh. She twitched, the movement minuscule and nearly unnoticeable as she just stared.

"My turn!" exclaimed Naruto, grinning excitedly as he introduced himself. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto and I'm gonna be the Hokage one day! I like ramen and pranks, but I hate arrogant _jerk assholes!_ " He shouted, glaring specifically at Sasuke.

Kakashi coughed. "...Right. Now, you?" He asked, turning to the dark haired girl and drawing the others' attention back before an embarrassing skirmish could take place.

"..." She seemed to think about this for a bit, giving the others time to really get a good look at her.

She looked young, possibly their age, though her eyes seemed to say otherwise. And as had been mentioned, her eyes were deep brown, not quite rich, but not quite dark either, even shadowed as they were by her eyelashes and glasses frames. There was depth to them, though, as they displayed varying shades of the color.

Her hair was black -possibly dark brown, as far as the lighting was concerned, messy but straight, falling just below her shoulder, with a slight curl at the ends. As if they wanted to curl, but didn't have the right weight for it.

A lock of the not quite spiky hair fell into the contemplative girl's eyes, as if contemplation were something she did often, though it didn't _always_ stay that way.

To the ninja, she was strange. Wearing over-sized clothing (not that she noticed, she preferred her clothes that way anyways, so a little more 'bagginess' didn't really feel too different to her). A long sleeved, turtle-necked sweater that was long enough to be a dress on her, falling to her knees where they would have normally only gone just past her hips down to mid-thigh. Her sleeves an entire three hand-lengths or so they estimated from the way they hung from her shoulders.

She also wore leggings that looked more like pants that had been pulled on under her 'dress', though, actually those were jeggings, so they looked like jeans? If Ninja even had jeans.

The only reason they hadn't slipped was probably due to the belt that, where had previously kept her pants high on her waist, now fit snugly around her hips.

Not to mention the shoes she wore, like close-toed and impractically higher-heeled white shinobi sandals… only carrying zippers on the insides.

If they'd asked, she would have said her attire was normal where she'd come from.

But they hadn't, so there was nothing to say aside from the fact that her clothes were strange from a shinobi's standpoint. Even for a civilian.

Of course, in the short time it'd taken them to categorize and take note of these things -even after having used said sleeves to rub her eyes with- she still hadn't noticed the change in clothes or stature. And with the shinobi having never met or seen her before in their lives, there was absolutely no way for _them_ to have known either.

And so another point for strangeness was chalked up, that would soon be ignored for even stranger things.

The girl nodded to herself, seemingly coming to a decision as she shrugged.

"...You can call me Murasaki Shirei or just Shi," she said at last, choosing the most Japanese name she could that she was likely to answer to. "I've been called a lot of things," she continued, unaware that the way she stated her sentence made the others think that said 'things' were more than likely negative, especially considering her currently deadpan and careless expression (which they'd probably realize was her 'normal' expression later on), "so you can call me pretty much anything and I'll respond," she continued, completely oblivious to the other's reactions, as she continued to speak, a slight frown of thought on her face.

"I like colors, and cats...though I don't really hate any animal in particular…. I hate… I guess I dislike bugs with less than four or more than eight legs, and I _really_ don't like….SAW…" she said, understating some of her 'dislike', and thoroughly confusing the group as, unlike her, they didn't actually know what 'saw' -or to them, 'saa' she meant.

They didn't exist in the Naruto!verse, after all.

"Hum…. I….am not really sure what I want to be, but for now I'd settle towards being a Psychologist," she finished, nodding as she finally came out of her thoughts, saying the minimal as a courtesy to the group. Well, at least before she saw the look of confusion on their faces, at least.

Right. The closest thing they had to psychologists here were probably the Yamanaka, huh?

"...A psychologist is a person that studies the way a person's mind works, usually their job's to help people," she explained, thinking that it might simply be the fact that they probably didn't actually have a word for psychologist (except maybe 'Yamanaka', but that was different. Kekkei Genkai didn't really count in her mind. Sure it'd help, but…), "Oh, and they're really good at reading people," she nodded. Something that she wasn't quite good at, but she _was_ working on it, and so was much better than she might've been otherwise.

"Anyways, it's nice to meet you all," she told them before bowing slightly. "Now," she continued, having begun to come to the conclusion that this probably wasn't a hallucination, and not really feeling much towards it being a dream… "if you'll excuse me, I think I'm in shock."

She stood up, dusting her pants -er, leggings- absently before walking into the nearest patch of wood without another word, leaving an unsure and somewhat shocked team behind to stare after her.

"..." No one said a word as she walked off, hit her head against a tree (on purpose), paused (to take a deep breath), and _screamed_ (or rather, shrieked considering the pitch and the wince it caused quite a few of the team) her lungs out, before walking back out with a bloody forehead and a deadpan expression that she'd rearranged her face into after her little vocal release. Now wearing a more...serene? Normal? Neutral, at least, expression.

"Sorry 'bout that. 'S not good to bottle things up, y'know," she told them, giving the group a bland (blank) smile.

The only thought that was running through their heads, however, was that she was a strange, strange girl, before, once again, wondering just how she'd gotten where she was.

It was still too bad she didn't know that she'd shrunk into somewhat chibi-size, though, or her inner troll wouldn't have been able to resist missing the chance to mess with them all.

Not that she really need to make a conscious effort to do so, of course.

She'd still lament all the missed chances and those that she hadn't quite noticed until they were pointed out, though. Such was the nature of a troll, after all.

~ El Fin?~


	6. Mito (Twin Verse, SIOC-Insert AU)

**Notes** : Another tumblr cross-post. Mostly just posting/updating some stuff. For those that follow TEAM, I've been having a lot of writer's block. Partially because the scenes refuse to be written despite my having planned all of it out... Also because I've just been busy dealing with life as it is.

So for now, have another SI/OC-Insert AU thing.

 **Disclaimers:** I don't own Naruto. If I had, things would have ended a bit (a lot) differently… Not to mention I am, unfortunately, not male. Nor is my name 'Kishimoto'. Oh well. _C'est la vie._

Basically, Naruto is born with a twin that's an SI, and since I only have one 'scrap' for it right now and some ideas, I didn't really want to post it to FF, but, ehhhh whatever. Anyway, here you go.

 **Summary** :Mito hadn't always been Mito. But that doesn't change the fact that she's (Namikaze-) Uzumaki Mito now. Armed with incomplete knowledge from another world, and a connection that keeps her from falling too deep into despair, she learns to truly live her life in a way that her other self never got to.

 **Characters** : Sarutobi Hiruzen, Uzumaki Naruto, OC (Uzumaki Mito)

 **Rated** :T (For Later Language if Continued)

 **Word Count** : 3,324

 **Warnings** : SI/OC-insert, Naruto has a twin, slow-going, some time-skipping and P.O.V. changes.

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 **Scrap 006. Mito / Uzumaki Twin Verse** (Rated T/T+ for Language)

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 **Prologue**

Two children squalled, blonde infants with three, whisker-like marks on each cheek (the result of being born to a Jinchuuriki, as those who knew the truth might tell you). These two were all that stood between Konoha and the two halves of the Nine Tailed Fox that had caused so much death, destruction, and terror to its citizens. And they were the only remnants of the legacy that were Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina.

Sighing as he turned away from the window, Sarutobi Hiruzen felt his expression pinch as he tried to come to a decision. What would be the right thing to do here? It wasn't as if he'd expected to ever have to step back into this office in official capacity, but… _but_ , seeing as his successor was now dead, what else could he do but to take the mantle once more? Laying weary eyes upon the two infants that had been brought to him after Minato had finally managed to seal the Kyuubi away (and into his own children no less, it was unfortunate that calling upon the Shinigami meant that he'd only been able to take on enough of the Bijuu's chakra to seal the half of what remained into his newborn son and daughter respectively), Hiruzen rubbed at his eyes tiredly.

"Just what am I going to do with you, Naruto, Mito…?" He whispered, voice heavy with weary resignation. He knew what he was supposed to do, what he _wanted_ to do, and they were both so, _so_ different from what he _had_ to do. Or rather, _would_ have to do.

He could only hope his trust in the people weren't misplaced. Something that would be proven incorrect not too long after, when things took a different turn. Something he probably should have expected, But Hiruzen was getting old, and had originally retired for that very reason, having done so as soon as a suitable successor could be chosen. But for _this_ to happen, for the Kyuubi to somehow be released; for Minato and Kushina to both die…

Well, at least the twins wouldn't have to worry so much about being lonely since they'd have each other, at least…

* * *

Two blonde children half-skipped and half-walked, hands swinging like a pendulum between the them as they distracted themselves from the dark and mistrustful stares aimed their way. Neither was truly immune to the looks and whispers, but that didn't mean that, together, they couldn't pretend to be so, smiling and creating a facsimile of joy (that would one day, perhaps, become real) as the two laughed and sang.

Of the two, the loudest was the shorter haired child, hair a vivid yellow and styled into short, uneven spikes as if either he, himself, or another child had taken a pair of scissors to his head. Bright blue eyes crinkled as he and his partner sang a little ditty that they had come up with so long ago. It was childish and simple, but it was still something that they liked to use to pretend that everything was fine, better than fine, even.

Catching sight of the equally cheerful and nearly identical, effeminate version of himself, Naruto couldn't help the bubble of joy that welled up inside as he thought about the few precious people he had. A short and measly list that might have saddened any sane and logical person, but for the four -almost five- year old, it was still quite a list to behold. Something that brought awe to him whenever he thought about it. And to think, only a few months ago he'd only had one -maybe two- people on his 'Precious People' list. His sister and the old man Hokage that sometimes visited them. Of course, he could _maybe_ count some of the masked people that would mysteriously appear and disappear, but they never stayed long. Nor did they really interact with the twins unless absolutely necessary. Besides, they were apparently the old man's way of keeping them safe. Said masked people had saved them a couple of times when things got particularly… _rowdy_.

In fact, said person was who they were off to visit now! Aside from his twin, the Hokage was the most important and precious person in his life, in fact, the man had been the one to introduce him to the amazingness that was Ramen! Just thinking about ramen made the blonde cheer up (when he wasn't sulking or pouting because he'd been denied said treat), and he was sure that Hokage-jiji wouldn't be against having Ramen for lunch, considering how busy he always was. Or, well, Mito had said so. But Mito was smart. And while Naruto knew he wasn't the sharpest Kunai in the pouch, Mito was always so calm and patient for the most part even when Naruto knew he was being completely clueless.

She was kinda weird sometimes, but then, maybe that was part of being really smart? He knew the old man Hokage was super smart and he sometimes made weird faces and giggled over some weird orange book. He'd asked about it once, but the the old man had been quite evasive about it. It was too bad, though. Naruto thought it must have been an awesome book if it was orange! Because Orange was super awesome! He didn't know why so many people wouldn't believe him. I mean, surely they could understand the power of orange? And Ramen! Couldn't forget the holy goodness that was Ramen, of course!

* * *

Clasping hands with the only living remnant of her family in this world (as far as she was aware, in any case), Uzumaki Mito kept pace with her twin. Her arms swinging in just as wide an arc as her brother's as she tried to keep up the facade that she was entirely unaware of the mutters and whispers that followed them wherever they went. She did her best not to flinch or shrink, if only for the sake of her brother, but even with years of extra memories in her head, there wasn't much she could do about the fact that it still hurt.

Still, even if it wasn't exactly a good thing, at least she had practice in the few years she'd been 'aware' in this world. As far as she could tell, it was simply the way things worked in this world, though. Physics and Biology were apparently different from what she remembered, especially in that children seemed to develop much more quickly than their counterparts in her world. Then again, such things as 'Chakra' and 'Bijuu' existed, so that wasn't surprising.

Or, well, so she'd assumed at any rate. Either way, once she'd come to the conclusion that there was really nothing she could do about any of this, and after panicking enough to nearly have a panic attack, as well as realizing that keeping herself from 'reacting' in this world was much more difficult than it had been when she'd been an adult (not too surprising once she thought about it later on, after calming of course. Children weren't quite so able to repress their emotions, after all), she'd finally accepted that she was stuck with her situation.

Even if it were just a dream, what could she do about it? Even if it were, she wasn't exactly suicidal or masochistic enough to try to 'commit suicide'. Rationalizing might have worked, if not for the fact that things clearly worked differently in this world. It was difficult, and to be honest, if not for the ever optimistic ray of sunshine that was practically stuck to her like glue, the girl now called Mito would likely have succumbed far sooner to her more negative emotions.

It might have seemed to others that she was far calmer than her brother (something she'd had to cultivate, to avoid saying or reacting too strangely), and perhaps more responsible and reliable than the other child, but that was only thanks to the memories she'd retained of another world full of other memories. (Even in the future she still couldn't be sure if she'd simply been given another's memories, or if she had been that person that had somehow ended up in this world. And if so, how she had managed to keep her memories through whatever reincarnation process her soul had gone through was a question that she would probably never find the answer to.)

Still, the truth of the matter was that _she_ was the one who needed _Naruto_. The small ray of sunshine that was her twin, that refused to let himself think too negatively, and by extension, herself, had been what had kept her afloat in even the darkest of days. It probably didn't (or perhaps did) help that she had been an older sibling once too, even if she'd never been the best one. (She'd resented her family, once upon a time, even if she'd loved them just as much as well. But then, they'd always said there was a fine line between love and hate…)

Even if they never knew who the actual elder sibling was, that didn't change the fact that they were siblings now. And even if the murmurs of disgust and hatred still managed to filter through no matter how much she tried to ignore them, that didn't mean she couldn't still push them aside. (They still hurt, though. What had they even done to deserve such hate? As much as she could understand the reason why, she also couldn't. Because what could possibly justify the people of an entire, large village turning their hatred to two, young orphans? Orphans who knew absolutely nothing -or were supposed to know nothing- of their circumstances?)

And so she allowed herself to be distracted. She let herself fall into her brother's pace while simultaneously doing her best to take care of him. Because even if she was still a child in this world, she also had the memories of another that, if counted, would put her at an adult's level, even if only in the recesses of her own mind.

(She might have been taking advantage of being allowed to a child, even while simultaneously being frustrated by it. Whether this new life was supposed to be a punishment or a purgatory, well, what else could she do but to use what she had to do what she could…?)

* * *

Sarutobi Hiruzen was old. Much older than he'd been when he'd retaken the hat, and even older than when he'd retired. The stress of taking back the hat and having to run a country when he should've been able to retire and live alongside his grandchildren had very much taken a toll on the man that could be considered a fossil even by civilian standards.

Still, even with all the darkness in his life, there were a few bright spots. His grandson, for one. And while he and his remaining son were somewhat estranged, he still cared about those members of his family. Aside from that, however, well, it was mostly the little things that gave him joy nowadays.

No doubt Konohagakure would have flourished even more under the hand of his chosen successor. But as much as he regretted the events of that night, there wasn't much he could do aside from to move on and to try honoring the lives that had been lost that night.

Of which included the new jinchuuriki of the nine tailed fox. A demon of chakra that had had been sealed into the very children of the one who'd defeated it. Two children that would be visiting him soon enough. Honestly, he still wasn't quite sure what Minato had been thinking, to seal the Kyuubi into his two children, but there wasn't anything he could do about it now, of course. Still, he wondered how they were doing…

No doubt Naruto would want to have ramen for lunch again, the old man mused, chuckling to himself as he took a moment to take a break, pipe already in hand as he lit its contents with a small flicker of elemental chakra. The boy was rambunctious, much like his mother, though he definitely took more after Minato in coloring, he mused. Bright, blue eyes and a shock of vivid yellow hair the exact shade as Minato's. If not for the whisker-like marks that were proof of being the child of a Jinchuuriki, it likely would have been far more clear that he took more to his mother in body. Of course, he wasn't unique in the markings, it was something he shared with his sibling, after all. And what a surprise, that Kushina had been pregnant with not one, but two children! And a girl, at that. Rare enough that she'd been carrying twins, but for them to be of different genders, well. That they… _would_ have survived… was already a miracle as it was.

Mito, who'd been named after the woman who'd taken Kushina in. Mito, who seemed to take more after her mother in appearance than her father, color and eye shape aside. While Naruto had his mother's eyes with his father's coloring, Mito's were more like her father's, colored similarly to Kushina's, though they were slightly bluer in hue than the emerald grey that the vivacious red-head had sported. Blonde hair that was already beginning to turn more a golden-red or amber color in the sun, and a somewhat shy personality much like Minato in his earlier years. No doubt their parents would have been full of joy at the seemingly perfect mixing of their traits.

As a seal flashed in code by his door, thanks to the AnBu who pretended to be his secretary, Hiruzen was taken out of his musings, as he was alerted to the arrival of the twins. No doubt Naruto would have charged straight in, if not for the more conscientious Mito at his side. Chuckling to himself, he called out, pressing a finger with some chakra to the seal under his desk so that his voice could be heard from outside.

"Come on in, Mito, Naruto," standing as he spoke, Hiruzen straightened his back, wincing a bit at the loud cracking sound that echoed in the otherwise silent room, as he stepped around the paperwork piled desk to greet the two young jinchuuriki before _something_ got knocked off his desk.

"Gramps, Gramps!" Came the excited chatter of the male of the two siblings as he zoomed in to a stop before the man, his sister taking a more casual approach as she sighed, a small smile on her face. "Can we get ramen for lunch this time, please, please? I'll eat all my vegetables, so can we go? Pretty please?" He pleaded in lieu of the more polite greeting that his sibling gave.

"Good Afternoon, Hokage-jii-san," she greeted somewhat more shyly, stopping closer to the doorway then into the room as her sibling had. Though her addressing of the man was likely a bit strange (since it probably translated more to something like 'Grandpa Hokage' than anything), it didn't seem to bother the man. Rather, it seemed to amuse him as he smiled genially at the two.

"Just Jii-san is fine, Mito-chan. Or better yet, you can call me Jii-chan, instead," he mused, knowing that Mito would likely never be as casual (or to some people, as 'rude') as Naruto had a tendency to be.

Clearly hesitant, Mito nodded, re-greeting the man in a soft voice, "Th-then, good afternoon, o-jii-san," she said at last. It probably wouldn't last, but for this visit, at least, she wouldn't be calling him 'Hokage-jii-san'. Because while he _was_ the Hokage, he wanted the two to think of him more as family than someone to be exalted as many of the citizens seemed to.

Smiling warmly at the two, he chuckled, seeing that Naruto was getting antsy even as he waited for them to be done so he could get his answer. "As for you, Naruto-kun. I'm sure that it was supposed to be Mito-chan's turn to decide?" he half-chided, knowing that ramen all the time wasn't very good for the boy, even if it was more balanced than other options. (Not to mention cheap.)

Shoulders sagging, Naruto's entire countenance dropped, "O-Oh… Right," he frowned, "Sorry, Mito," he'd clearly forgotten who's turn it was, before he turned back to a smile so that Mito could pick. "So what does Mito want for lunch then?" he asked. There was a chance that she would choose ramen, and he had been 'good' after all… Or, well, as 'good' a kid as he could be. Even when Mito did boring things like sitting around or trying to practice to write or do maths.

Eyes wide at being put on the spot, Mito hesitated, looking between Naruto's attempt to hide his kicked puppy look, and the amused looking Hokage, she bit her lip, thinking about it. "W-well… Naruto did say he'd eat his vegetables…" She said, clearly thinking about it, though looking at Hiruzen for what seemed to be permission.

Honestly, that girl could be a little too nice, sometimes, the old man mused, blowing a puff of smoke in a ring shape as he looked at her. "And, is that what _Mito_ -chan wants for lunch, then?" he asked, knowing that the girl would more often than not end up spoiling her brother if not for the fact that it was more difficult to when so many people seemed to hate them simply for being them.

Clearly torn, Mito frowned to herself, even as Naruto perked up, clearly doing his best not to wiggle too much since the boy definitely had a more difficult time trying to stay still or in one place for very long. Finally, the slightly red-tinted blonde seemed to come to a decision, "I…don't know what I want to eat so… instead, Naruto could choose this time and I…could choose next time, instead?" She decided, apparently having no preference, but knowing better to simply just let her brother get what he wanted every time.

Though he hadn't scolded her for it, he had gently chided her for not choosing for herself at times, making sure that Naruto could hear and thus understand that 'it wasn't fair' to Mito if she simply let Naruto choose every time.

It seemed to be working, though, since Naruto perked up and nodded vigorously, eyes bright as he turned to Hiruzen. "Can we do that then? Uhm, please?" he asked, eyes wide and bright as he tried not to jump in place, the two clearly looking to him for acceptance of the ideas.

Taking a moment to hum, as he pretended to think about it, Hiruzen nodded. "Very well. Then, in exchange for letting Naruto choose this time, Mito gets to choose next time," he concluded, pretending not to notice as Naruto cheered and Mito let out a small, relieved exhale. A tiny smile appeared on the girl's face as she nodded in acceptance of the fact.

"Ichiraku's, Ichiraku's~~!" Naruto exclaimed, jumping and cheering as he hugged his sister and then the Hokage, just managing to remember to say his thanks, as he tried to calm down so they could get going, though it was clearly taking some effort. Taking his sister's hand, the two started walking, knowing that the old Hokage would follow behind them at a more leisurely pace.

Hiruzen chuckled, patting the boy and smiling indulgently at the little show, as he did exactly that, watching the two as he walked; as Mito did her best to keep up with her excited twin while asking that he slow down, and Naruto tried to walk (or rather, power-walked) as fast as he could to get to the ramen stand that much sooner.

Ah, yes. It was good to see that _their_ children were still doing well enough despite the hate of certain village members for the two innocents.

* * *

 **Ending Notes** : Starting and Ending with Hiruzen's Perspective, with a look into Naruto and Mito's along the way. Probably a bit confusing since it's only the prologue/very beginning, but if I manage to continue it, well… Hopefully I do, anyway. I have a few ideas, but this is more of a…er, well, slightly stress relief and self-indulgent fic to be honest. So, yeah, I'll leave it at that for now.

If anyone's interested in it, please do let me know. Reviews/Notes/Likes are always appreciated. Thanks!


	7. And With A Single Beat (RoF Verse)

**Author's Notes** : Just a warning, there's gonna be a text block, but otherwise, this (along with Mito) _will_ be posted as separate stories/series once I finish the chapters I'm working on. Anywho, another older idea, but still relative new, if still older than the TEAM and Mito Stories. I actually had about 1.5 chapters in my drafts/docs, but since they were old, I still ended up rewriting them.

Either way, we'll see, though. I do have quite a few arcs outlined (at least 9-10 + 2 bonus arcs at _least_ , depending on how things go), so there is that, at least. Muses willing, this'll be posted as a separate story in no time. Really depends on whether people are interested or not, though it's also cross-posted on AO3 already. (The format is a lot easier to work with for the most part, story-wise, at least.)

This one was actually spawned due to a really weird dream I had, though you can read that over on AO3 if you're inclined since it's pretty much a block of text. (Or if anyone actually is interested, I'll note it either in the official story post, or the next chapter if/when it comes out.)

This one actually has two titles, one for the "Series" (if it comes to that), and one for the actual story, which you'll see below when I get to it. As with the other stories, there _are_ Original Characters, and one, due to a 'potentially' mutated kekkei genkai/bloodline limit, technically counts as a pseudo-SI/OC. So two OCs that are main characters. An Uzumaki (technically kind of a female Naruto, except actually raised by their parents), and an orphan with a supposedly 'useless' kekkei genkai —enhanced intelligence/maturity/brain maturation aside.

 **Disclaimers** : I don't own Naruto. I do, apparently, have a right to Artistic License, however —and thus the rights to write, post, and create this story.

 **Title** : And With A Single Beat

 **Story Summary** :"—of a Butterfly's Wings, everything was changed. Kagami Hoshika is an orphan. She doesn't particularly care about gender, and she's about as average as one could be considering her situation. Or, well, she would be if not for the strange dreams she thinks might be due to some kind of Kekkei Genkai —or some mutated bloodline ability— because she's pretty sure she's not supposed to be seeing alternate worlds in her sleep."

 **Alternate** **Summary** : "Kagami Hoshika is an orphan, one that prefers not to draw attention to herself if she can help it. All she wants is to graduate, earn some money, and then maybe buy some land to live a peaceful, quiet retirement on by herself. Maybe learn some agriculture so she can be more self-sufficient. Unfortunately, the Hokage's daughter's like a limpet that just attached herself one day and would let go. And her —apparently popular even at a young age— Uchiha Tag Along-slash-Bset Friend/Possible Boyfriend just draws even more attention to their little group. Which is kind of not good because she thinks she's getting attached to them, too."

 **Tags** : Alternate Universe; Canon Divergence; Somewhat Slow Build; Naruto has a Big Sister; Itachi gets a different team; Technically Itachi/Naruko; Two Reoccuring/Main OCs; Pseudo-SI/OC; Sort of Fix-It; Kekkei Genkai/Bloodline Mutations; Sharingan/Doujutsu Mutation OC; A bit more character-centric than world build, really; Divergence actually begins around the Kannabi Bridge Arc; Major Branching AU; some world-building

 **Characters** : Namikaze Minato, Uzumaki Kushina, Hatake Kakashi, [redacted for spoilers], OC (Uzumaki Kizuna), SI/OC (Kagami Hoshika), Uchiha Itachi, Uchiha Mikoto

 **Rated** : T/T+ (For Language)

 **Word Count** : 5,136

 **Warnings** : This is _not_ an actual reincarnation fic, despite the pseudo-SI/OC-insert; Slowbuild; Major Canon Divergences (especially at certain points); Pre-Kyuubi/Naruto but Post-Kannabi, etc.

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 **Scrap 007. And With a Single Beat, It Begins... / Reflections of Fate Verse (Rated T/T+ for Language)**

* * *

The day had started out like any other. Or, well, at least as far as it did in Konohagakure, anyways. The sun was shining, the ninja were ninja-ing, and the civilian folk were getting ready to greet the new day as usual.

Or, well, they had until Konoha's (infamously) nicknamed Bloody Red Habanero started yelling loudly enough that anyone within the village —oh, say...about a ten, no, twenty mile radius?— could hear.

"NAMIKAZE MINATO—! IF YOU DON'T GET YOUR BUTT BACK HERE RIGHT FUCKING NOW, I'M GOING TO DISMEMBER A VERY. IMPORTANT. PART. OF YOUR PRETTY BOY BODY BEFORE YOU CAN EVEN SCREAM, YOU COWARDLY BASTARD!"

Ninja and civilian alike paused in their day to day dealings, looking towards the source of the yell, before returning to their everyday bustle. Many of villagers winced in sympathy, wondering just what their poor leader had done to piss his wife off so badly, but still hoping that said woman didn't actually mean what they thought she meant.

(Several of the men, ninja who had once gone to school with said firecracker, immediately paled as they recalled events long past. A few even had flashbacks, a sudden if immense foreboding warning them to stay clear away from the pregnant and hormonal redhead. Something they did without a second thought, instincts screaming at them to get away. Even if it meant running like dogs with their tails tucked in under the woman's blatant bloodlust simmered down enough to stop inducing flashbacks.)

The infamous streak of yellow flashing by attracted some attention, but was quickly ignored.

(No one wanted to be on the other end of a pissed off and pregnant bloody habanero.)

Some even thought it was a figment of their imagination, as the S-Ranked threat to Iwa that had all but single-handedly ended the Shinobi War...—ran away from his red-headed wife's rage.

Like a coward. (Then again, his wife was just as infamous, if not more so, if only for her explosive temper and a grudge she would gladly pay back seven-fold...at the very least.)

Back in the Hokage Tower, amongst a whirlwind of paperwork that had been left behind from his...retreat...one of the Yondaime's two remaining students winced in sympathy. Especially when said runaway Hokage immediately showed up again with a panicked look, cramming himself under his paperwork-laden desk, just in time to avoid being spotted by angry red-haired woman that had just shunshin'd into the room, the door slamming behind her as she growled. A practically visible cloak of ire hanging about her, the infamous Uzumaki Tendrils creating an illusion of bloody red tendrils waving in her ki.

Not spotting her target, she scowled. "Kakashi, sweetie, have you seen Minato…?" She asked, a saccharine tone that threatened a bloody, painful murder if she didn't get an answer. The silver-haired, single-eyed young ninja just stared at her with wide eyes, vigorously shaking his head in response as he shot a mental prayer to the heavens.

Sweat beaded on both he and his teacher's back as they tried not to get the blonde maimed. Kushina-san would calm down eventually (or break into frustrated tears) when she didn't find him, and hopefully not actually be angry enough to pull off her threat.

(They kind of still needed their Hokage, after all.)

(Said Hokage continued to hold his breath, heart beating frantically as he prayed the chakra and presence suppressing seals he'd feverishly created —especially after the last time her hormones had tipped her into 'raging bull with no care of or for consequences' mode...otherwise known as the Uzumaki Berserker Mode— for this very reason.)

Kushina just gave an irritated sigh, giving the silver haired scarecrow a sharp nod before stepping out. A half-stomp and half-shunshin that should have been impossible following herself and the deadly ki that saturated the air around her as she left.

Kakashi just released the breath he'd been holding, an exhalation shared by all three of the remaining members in the room.

"I...should probably make sure she doesn't hurt herself," Rin sighed, clearly anxious if the nervous way she was acting was any indication. Kushina was still pregnant after all. Minato, having crawled out from under the woodwork (quite literally), just nodded wearily.

"Please," he agreed, shooting the brunette an apologetic look as she wilted. Medic-Nin in training or not (Obito's death had left a mark on more than just her silver-haired teammate), Kushina was still a very scary woman...let alone a kunoichi. But unfortunately, the rest of the hospital staff would no doubt be too afraid to risk Kushina-sama's wrath, which left only the healer of her husband's team to trail after her.

Kakashi didn't even bother to look at Minato, just grimacing as reassuringly as he could to Rin. "I don't think she'll do more than snap at you at worst," he offered awkwardly. He'd at least tried to talk to his remaining teammate after Obito's death, but…

Well, it wasn't as if the genius had ever been any good at socializing. He'd yet to start forming habits similar to Obito's, what with Minato and Rin still there to anchor him, but...

Minato-sensei's smile was definitely a lot more reassuring, Rin thought, not even blushing despite the fact that her one-time crush (one that had started dying the moment Obito had) had deemed to try to comfort her. Of course, said smile by the blue-eyed man was also tired, but as he wiped a hand over his face, she just nodded.

"I'll do my best then." Still somewhat apprehensive, but not wanting to risk Kushina-sama's health just because she was a bit leery, she nodded to Kakashi and her sensei before leaving from an open window.

If what she'd caught of her mutterings as she'd left earlier were true, the woman had likely either gone to the main Uchiha Compound to enlist her best friend, or had gone husband-hunting around the training grounds.

Minato just sighed wryly, his "Thanks," slipping out barely fast enough for the kunoichi to catch as she shot off, running over rooftops in the direction she could sense her sensei's spouse.

(Minato was very, very lucky that Kushina had too much chakra to do 'delicate' work...including pinpoint chakra sensing, though that unfortunately came with the downside of not being able to use iryojutsu...even if her Uzumaki vitality allowed her to heal a little quicker than most nin could.)

Collapsing into his seat, he let himself fall back against the surprisingly cushy chair before giving his student a grin. "Thanks for not ratting me out," he said, only half jokingly as he tried to remember exactly what it was that had set her off. (A bit harder to do with pregnancy hormones wreaking even more havoc, but Minato wasn't a genius for nothing...he'd figure it out soon...or someone would tell him.)

Kakashi simply shrugged, deadpanning. "Better than having to convict the Hokage's wife for committing Mariticide," tone flat yet somehow conveying a slight, if morbid, sense of humor. "...What exactly did you do to set her off, anyway?" he asked, his idle tone doing nothing to his feelings. Not from his sensei, anyway.

Luckily for the both of them, Minato had run through all the things he'd done before managing to figure out what it was he had done to piss her off so bad.

"...I think I might've eaten the last of that dango she was saving from Tea Country," he mused sheepishly. Though, in his defense, he'd been tired and hadn't even realized what he'd been eating until now. Dango pretty much all looked and tasted the same to him (though there was probably at least one other kunoichi that would murder him if he said so loud...and academy student). Of course, Kushina probably wouldn't care about that, even if there hadn't really been much else he could eat on the go in the fridge.

He probably should've just bought something on the way to work, no matter how hungry and exhausted he'd been.

Kakashi winced.

"Ah," was his only response, his lack of admonishment and nonverbal sympathy something that Minato could only be grateful for as they lapsed into a semi-comfortable silence. One in which Minato would pretend that he had not just hidden within the emergency seals under his own desk just to get away from his wife. (Maybe his wayward and anti-social student was finally learning how to socialize like a normal person!)

Nope, not at all. Nuh-uh, don't know what any of you could be talking about.

After a while, though, Kakashi spoke up again.

"...Still…"

"Yes, Kakashi…?" curious about what his student might still have to say after such a long silence (in which he'd started doing paperwork again), he looked up.

"...Is it really smart to let her simmer like that, Sensei…?"

Minato nearly faulted. (On second thought…)

* * *

Elsewhere, not far from the Tower on Academy grounds, three kids paused in their training as a certain redhead's rage-filled threat echoed through the town.

All three were young for their placement, but that hadn't stopped any of them from doing their best and excelling in their learning. They were all considered prodigies in some way or another, after all. Even if it was different kinds of 'prodigious'.

Of the trio of children, the one that stood out the most was definitely the adorable if energetic —and somewhat quirky— strawberry (or rather, blonde with the occasional strand of bloody red) blonde with twintails.

Dressed in maneuverable short-shorts (or, perhaps technically short skorts, considering the skirt-like portion of it), a matching tracksuit jacket that ended midriff, and a bright red shirt underneath, perhaps the only impractical part of it...was the fact that said jacket and sports skorts were in the difficult to wash...white.

Of course, all three of the children wore the standard shinobi sandals over bandage wrapped feet. Especially considering their footwear had been purchased in a slightly larger size just to 'be on the safe side' considering the fact that they were still very much growing children.

They did, however, sport different color schemes. The blonde, having chosen mostly red and white clothing with the occasional blue (navy, to be exact), such as sandals, hair ties, and basically any non-metal ninja accessories. Across from said blonde was a slightly older boy with long black hair. He, too, kept to a simple color scheme —mostly of black and white, with a familiar black high-collared shirt and white shorts that fell to his knees; straight, mid-length black hair tied into a short ponytail at his nape.

Said boy was frowning, as the duo paused in the midst of exchanging strikes in their practice spar.

"...Was that…?" he started, calm countenance marred only by the slight downward tilt of his lips as they all stared in the direction of the scream, before exchanging looks.

The blonde nodded knowingly, "Yeah. I think Mom found out that Dad finished her Tea Country Dango." Pausing, she seemed to contemplate something, tilting her head to the side for a bit before tacking on, "Again."

The third of their trio, a child with short, chocolate hair ending at the nape (ironically, the most boyish looking, considering Itachi's longer hair, though the three were all somewhat slimmer than the average civilian child due to their shinobi training) expelled a huff-like breath.

"Of course he did," the girl mused, tomboyish appearance belying their otherwise Aburame or even Nara-like countenance (pity she wasn't actually related to either of those clans, or else she wouldn't have been stuck at the orphanage as long as she had). "You'd think Yondaime-sama would have learned by now, wouldn't you?" A slight twitch of the lip was the only obvious sign of amusement despite her drawling tone.

Kagami Hoshika was an orphan, but that didn't seem to truly bother her. Of the group, she was the eldest, though she didn't lose to the others in intellect, at least.

(Or rather, she worked hard enough to make up for it, anyway. Not like she really minded reading, after all. And with both parents having been of shinobi descent, she had a good sized pool of chakra, despite the fact it wasn't nearly the size of her compatriots'. That was fine, though. It just meant better chakra control, though she did take care to practice enough to try expand her otherwise limited pool at a nice rate. )

Perhaps that was why the three had all but been grouped together. Despite how unorthodox it was, it was very likely the three would end up on a team. Partially to keep the rest of the teams balanced, while putting like with like to avoid the potential disaster of putting 'prodigies' (though Itachi and Hoshika both seemed to hate the word, unlike their Uzumaki/Namikaze friend who simply took it in stride. She wasn't bothered by what 'most people' tended to think, after all) on a team with others that could very well resent them.

(Well, that, and as Hokage, if Minato chose to give preference to his daughter's wishes, then it was entirely in his right to do so...even if it was only mainly in part due to his wife's insistence.)

Itachi chuckled in response, even while their blonde companion grinned. "Yeah, you would think," she agreed. "Especially considering that dad's the freaking Hokage," she half-joked, a grin on her face as she folded her arms behind her head with a sigh. "He is supposed to be the best ninja the village has to offer, after all~"

The others could only nod in agreement. Grey, Black, and Aquamarine orbs exchanging amused looks as their lips tilted again in amusement.

"Indeed true, Kizuna-kun," Itachi agreed. His words accompanied by a musing, as childish hands stuffed themselves into the pockets of a somewhat oversized if comfy, open zip-up hoodie. One worn over a dark, sleeveless turtleneck and olive grey cargo's. (Needless to say, she definitely looked to most boyish of the three.)

Itachi's use of the '-kun' suffix for close friends (in part due to Kizuna all but throwing a tantrum over the boy being so 'formal' considering how close they were...along with the fact that she apparently had some sort of grudge with...someone —a certain toad-summoning pervert hermit— that had made her dislike the use of '-chan' in conjunction with her name… Something that apparently made her react 'very much like a certain "bloody habanero" ' as apparently was often muttered by shuddering adults), always seemed to amuse her.

The girl's threat of a 'painful, bloody death' to those that dared to use it after being warned the first day of school (with few exceptions), had drawn all sorts of consternation until she'd actually beat a kid up (thankfully during sparring class, though the Chuunin-sensei had had to drag her off the victim by the end). The only ones who could apparently get away with using the suffix were close and/or immediate family (except, again, a certain unfortunate teacher of her dear, doting daddy, that was).

Mostly because it wasn't like she could get away with or make her parents do anything they didn't want to. (And also, the threat of —gasp— ramen reduction! It was seriously, way too horrifying and cruel a punishment for the girl to dare even bring it up. Especially after seeing the smile on her mother's face.) Just the thought was enough to make her shudder, and not just because of the consequences.

("I carried you inside me for over nine months, sweetheart. I brought you into this world, so I can call you whatever the hell I want to, dattebane—!" "...What your mother said," her father had said apologetically. It was clear who wore the real pants in the family...or rather, daddy was just whipped when it came to mom, she'd realized.)

Needless to say, having watched Itachi flounder until he got used to calling her '-kun' (though ironically, she didn't think the other girl would actually mind being called 'Kizuna-chan' by the two of them if they really wanted to, considering how close they were now), had been absolutely hilarious.

Kizuna —like her mother...and sometimes her father, ironically enough— had the tendency to somehow, some way, manage to get what she wanted (for the most part, anyways). Her determination, will, and ability to simply bulldoze her way out of —and at times, into— situations had been absolutely amusing to the girl who'd found herself part of the trio within days of the (slightly) younger duo joining her class.

After all, she had been one of the few who hadn't actually minded, or rather, had probably been the only one uncaring enough to bother 'sucking up' to the two children of affluential families (the Hokage's daughter, and the Uchiha heir, as in, the next to become head of one of the major and founding clans of the village), let alone having child geniuses in her class —though she technically, apparently, counted as one herself, even if she hadn't decided to skip a year as they had…

If only because her 'civilian', or rather, orphanage, upbringing had excluded her from some of the shinobi tricks and learning that they covered in the classes. There were several people who had thought she might have Nara blood, though her hospital records proved otherwise...though it was possible that it was simply diluted enough that it no longer registered. And the clan she did technically have relations to —if diluted by the rest of her blood line— wasn't exactly been fond of 'outsiders', and with how diluted her blood was to that clan and the fact she didn't have their kekkei genkai, she'd have just been a pariah for most there anyways. If they even deemed to accept her as one of them, so she was really better off where she was now.

Either way, she'd been polite and relatively friendly, helped answer any questions (that she could, anyways), hadn't tried to brown nose, and had treated them like anyone else. Which had apparently been enough for the blonde to 'take a shine' to her and all but demand that she 'be her friend now, too!'

(Itachi's look of constipation had been equally hilarious as his struggle not to be 'overly polite', to be honest. Though, at that point, he and Kizuna apparently hadn't known each other so well despite being friends —something about their mothers being friends, but Itachi being too polite and a stick in the mud until the other girl had finally exploded and pretty much forced him to call her '-kun'.)

(Not to mention Kizuna's form of 'positive reinforcement' being a certain hard jab to the side whenever the boy had shown even the slightest sign of calling her '-san'. Needless to say, being the genius that he was, Itachi learned —very quickly— not to be so formal with the blonde, though had still occasionally slipped despite his best efforts.

(The blonde's conditioning had worked, though. Her Uzumaki Vitality apparently also making her stronger than the average kid even without the chakra enhancement...which she had chakra in spades to pull on if she even wanted to consider it.)

Of course, catching sight of the girl's amusement, Kizuna pouted. "Geez, Ho-shi-ka~!" she huffed, only half whining at the (entirely) unrepentant look on her friend's face.

Holding back a smirk, she gave the other a mild look, raising a single brow as her (only) female friend grumbled.

"Yes, Kizuna?" Waiting for the other to say something, she let the smirk twitch into place when other simply proceeded to huff and sulk even more.

"...Nothin'..." she muttered, barely resisting the use of what was apparently an inherited verbal tick (mom always got upset, so she'd made herself learn to internalize it instead) as she shot her other best friend a look.

Hoshika just tried not to snicker, seeing Itachi's own look of amusement before getting a devious idea.

"Alright, alright. I'll buy you one bowl of ramen if you can beat Uchiha," she teased, sincere in her promise as she inwardly snickered at Itachi's suddenly dour look. Kizuna, on the other hand, had done a one-eighty, expression excited as she straightened, practically bouncing in place she was so ready!

"Yatta~! Ramen!" She grinned. Not surprising considering that bother of her parents were pretty much ramen addicts as well. So the fact that the blonde had inherited that love for the food was all but expected, though it still amazed her how much the other could put away considering her size. She wasn't quite petite —not compared to how, ironically, slender Itachi was— though she was shorter than both Hoshika and Itachi. Her form, quite ironically, similar to her father's considering how girly he had apparently been as a child.

"Ichiraku Ramen, of course!" Kizuna exclaimed brightly, throwing herself into the spar, "but I want two bowls!"

Not surprising considering how much she could put away, though she was still being understanding of the fact that Hoshika didn't really get too much on the orphan's stipend she got from signing up for —and continuing at— the Academy.

Of course, she did get a slightly higher stipend thanks to keep up with her grades —the Fourth had altered the law, so that the kids would have the incentive to work harder. Especially since he knew how it felt, having been an orphan, himself, genius or not— along with the apartment than all the Academy Orphans got when they signed up.

It would only be until she graduated, after which she'd have a year or two to either earn enough for her own place or rank up to Chuunin, after which she'd definitely have more income. Not to mention that certain apartments and real estate businesses offered discounts for Active and/or Retired Shinobi.

Of course, Hoshika had her own plans —or maybe a dream...no, a goal?

She wanted to earn enough to buy her own plot of land. One that she could, preferably, live off of and be self-sufficient for the most part.

Buying land would, as expected, be rather expensive. And it wasn't like one could just sign up to become a clan with only one member (being the last of a clan was different from making a clan of one, after all). Though there were perks to having a bloodline and starting a clan, there were also some rather rigid standards for the very same reason.

And for one that was as useless as hers? Well, for one, she didn't really feel comfortable with becoming what would basically amount to either being breeding stock or experimental bloodline breeding (there were so, so many ways that could possibly go wrong...not to mention that, as someone who hadn't even hit puberty yet the thought of having sex and/or making babies was possibly the absolute farthest thought from anything she might even consider doing).

She'd read books, ones that explained the danger as well as how very many different ways things could go wrong.

Besides, her bloodline was useless anyways, so she didn't think it'd really matter. (Boosted brain development as a side effect, aside.)

"Okay, but only if you win," Hoshika said after a while, shaking herself from distraction as she watched the Uchiha internally curse (the three knew each other well enough to be able tell by this point) with amusement. She had saved up enough to be able a splurge a little, so getting four bowls of ramen wouldn't be too much of an issue.

Of course, the extra two bowls being for Itachi and herself. A peace-offering as it were. Itachi was beyond picky when it came to his favorite sweets, so she wouldn't bother trying to find something he'd like, considering how often his cravings for sweets changed. (Dango seemed to be his favorite, but there was apparently a specific place that he exclusively purchased from, and they had yet to visit as a group, so she wouldn't know where it was anyway.)

Besides, it would just be rude of her not to at least offer, considering she had just set the most physically inclined of the group after him. And no doubt the other would be accompanying them for the meal —just as he always did. Though, that did give a rather amusing idea...possibly a way to make things even, or else pacify the Uchiha heir, anyway.

Dango as a prize would definitely give him at least some motivation to try to beat their blonde friend.

Hoshika, herself, wasn't so fond of sweets, so she'd be rooting for Kizuna, though. Not that she would mind either way, since it was more for fun than anything. She wasn't particularly picky, and being an orphan, she wasn't quite used to sweets. Especially when it wasn't exactly a necessity, and was more something to indulge in.

It didn't particularly do much, aside from a slight rush, after all. (And yeah, brain sugar, but fruit were healthier and could do the exact same thing...some veggies, as well.)

Still, she didn't really care about what or where they are as long as it was within her budget. Healthy and at least somewhat balanced food was a preference, of course, but tea houses should have options other than just sweets...right?

Though, even if it weren't the case, she supposed indulging every once in a while wasn't a bad thing, either.

Either way, she simply enjoyed the friendly company. Social eating wasn't so bad, considering that at least two meals were usually spend alone in the solitude of her minimally furnished apartment. Honestly, the room with the most things in it would probably be the kitchen, where all the foodstuff was kept. Body wash and hair care in the bathroom, and maybe a writing desk and a futon in her room.

There was also technically a living room area, but aside from a carpet...well, it wasn't really meant for guests, though she had managed to find a shelf. There was a potted plant and a few books on it, but that was it. She hadn't been kidding when she'd said the kitchen was the most furnished, though.

Some attempts at (edible) horticulture, some stools for the kitchen counter, and a set of dishes and utensils outside of groceries, a rice cooker, and the minimal necessities for cooking. She was typically as frugal as she could be, with few exceptions. Possibly the only potential 'waste' was the horticulture, since it did take some trial and error before she figured out how to grow them properly, and herbs and seasonings were a bit more on the expensive side.

Probably why she tended to use them sparingly, if she could. Food didn't need to be heavily seasoned to taste good, anyway.

Still, considering that she was living alone in a single bed-and-bath apartment with a storage (or den, whatever you wanted to call it), and an open space that served as a sitting area —if she actually had something other than cushions to sit on, or had a coffee table, anyway— she liked to think she was doing pretty well.

The Shinobi supplies were relatively inexpensive (discounted, thanks to orphan welfare), and the Academy provided most of the texts along with some of the practice supplies —though those had to be returned within a certain time frame, of course. Sort of like a library and checking things out, after all.

Most of the Academy students preferred to have their own sets, though, considering how used the Academy's were. And they did all get a set of blunt kunai, even if wasn't very many.

(Around eight or ten per set, kunai and shuriken-wise. Basically, you either got eight kunai and ten shuriken, or vice versa. Personally, she'd gotten the eight and ten set, rather than the ten and eight, since shuriken were a bit more difficult to use and she needed more practice with. There were different kinds of kunai, so she could borrow an Academy set, but shuriken only had one shape, though the kit each orphan got only had the standard, and they'd have to either buy actual kunai later anyway, or take the time to try to sharpen the blunt weapons into something other than a blunt projectile. Shuriken, however, were meant more for distractions, so being blunt didn't particularly matter, unless you were really, really accurate with your projectiles. Most people didn't use them anyways, because they were so finicky to handle. Though, they were a good precursor to Fuuma Shuriken, which...didn't really work the same, aside from working on a similar trajectory.)

Either way, it didn't really matter. The fact was that, though somewhat troublesome, as long as she kept to her budget and kept her grades up (which basically mostly meant training and studying or doing homework on her own time), there were really more perks than downsides to her situation as it was.

Even if she was an orphan, she at least knew she had ninja parents —not uncommon, honestly speaking. It wasn't the norm, per say, but at least three out of ten orphans had ninja lineage, so there was that. And there was nothing saying a civilian couldn't work up to being a ninja, even if meant working double —or even triple— as hard as those with shinobi genes, considering that they tended to have larger chakra pools compared to civilians who, well, didn't use it, and so didn't.

Still, it was possible to train and expand one's chakra enough to at least survive, maybe even thrive, as a ninja if one worked hard at it. The Academy started early for a reason, after all. Children were the best at learning and adapting, which included chakra coils and pool increase. It was only once they were past a certain age that that window of optimal learning and expansion would end, making it even harder to do so. It was just how the human body worked, after all.

It was why civilians tended to stagnate, chakra pool wise, and why the Academy only accepted children within a certain age range. But that was something to discuss for another time.

For now, she had a match to watch and friend to cheer (and possibly goad) on.

She had a feeling that Kizuna would still win, though. If only out of brute force and determination. Itachi was really too gentle to want to hurt anyone, so ended up holding back. Even if it sometimes meant being beaten by the human projectile named Uzumaki-Namikaze Kizuna. Especially when it was determined Kizuna, she mused, wincing slightly as Itachi had the breath, quite literally, knocked out of him. Laying on the ground for a few moments before raising an arm and announcing his forfeit.

(She'd really have to make it up to him, then. Even if it was just with a bowl of ramen, rather than his beloved Dango.)


End file.
